Oscar Wrap Up

What was that!? Oscars went all M. Night Shyamalan with a twist ending. So La La Land didn’t end up dancing into the sunset with a Best Picture win. I did not have a good prediction year. It goes to show that researching is sometimes useless. I thought that Jimmy Kimmel did a pretty good job. I really enjoyed his constant mocking of Matt Damon (what a good sport) including the playing off his award presenting. The parachuting candy was cute and I surprisingly loved the tour group that got to see the celebrities up close and personal. My revelation of the night is that all of Sting’s songs are starting to sound the same, he could have broke into ‘Fields of Gold’ seamlessly tonight and no one would have known the difference. I thought the nomination packages were a little lackluster this year but I appreciated seeing all nominees getting a clip instead of rushing the best actor/actress ones and just seeing the best picture nominees at the end instead of throughout. I wish they would have shown some of the movie magic in action, like seeing the actors getting made-up for the make-up nominees or the visual effects added to the films during their nominations. Best presenters of the night were John Cho and Leslie Mann who made the Sci-Fi awards (held earlier) look like fun. Anyway, only got 15 right this year. Bummer. Here’s who won:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

SING

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

PIPER (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

THE WHITE HELMETS

SOUND EDITING

ARRIVAL

SOUND MIXING

HACKSAW RIDGE

ORIGINAL SCORE

LA LA LAND (predicted)

ORIGINAL SONG

CITY OF STARS (predicted)

VISUAL EFFECTS

THE JUNGLE BOOK (predicted)

MAKE-UP

SUICIDE SQUAD

COSTUME DESIGN

FANTASTIC BEASTS . . .

PRODUCTION DESIGN

LA LA LAND (predicted)  

FILM EDITING

HACKSAW RIDGE

CINEMATOGRAPHY

LA LA LAND (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

OJ: MADE IN AMERICA (predicted)

ANIMATED FEATURE

ZOOTOPIA (predicted)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

THE SALESMAN (predicted)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

MOONLIGHT (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

MANCHESTER ON THE SEA (predicted)

BEST DIRECTOR

DAMIEN CHAZELLE [LA LA LAND] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

VIOLA DAVIS [FENCES] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

MAHERSHALA ALI [MOONLIGHT] (predicted)

BEST ACTRESS

EMMA STONE [LA LA LAND] (predicted)

BEST ACTOR

CASEY AFFLECK [MANCHESTER ON THE SEA]

BEST PICTURE

MOONLIGHT

How did you do?

Oscar Predictions

It’s that time of year again for my fearless Oscar predictions. Some tough choices this year but I’m feeling pretty good about them. Just as a reminder, I’m not predicting who I want to win but who I think the Academy will vote for. From smaller to bigger, here we go:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

TIMECODE

(A funny tale involving parking attendants)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

PIPER

(It’s Pixar and it’s adorable.)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

JOE’S VIOLIN           

(A touching story. White Helmets might take it though.)

SOUND EDITING

HACKSAW RIDGE

(More sound effects work than La La Land.)

SOUND MIXING

LA LA LAND

(Lots of sound layers in this one.)

ORIGINAL SCORE

LA LA LAND

(It’s a musical.)

ORIGINAL SONG

CITY OF STARS [LA LA LAND]

(For me, one of the only catchy songs from the film)

VISUAL EFFECTS

THE JUNGLE BOOK

(Those animals and that scenery looked awesome.)

MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING

STAR TREK BEYOND

(Lots of alien races in this one)

COSTUME DESIGN

LA LA LAND

(Would pick Jackie but La La Land has more buzz)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

LA LA LAND

(This element is why it’s up for best picture in the first place)

FILM EDITING

LA LA LAND

(Editing win usually leads to best picture win)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

LA LA LAND

(Beautifully shot film. Great sweeps of the camera.)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA

(People were obsessed with this guy last year.)

ANIMATED FEATURE

ZOOTOPIA

(It has a nice inclusive message attached. And sloths!)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

THE SALESMAN

(This one is more of an anti-Trump vote.)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

MOONLIGHT

(This will be consolation prize for not winning best picture.)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

(This will be consolation prize for not winning best picture.)

BEST DIRECTOR

DAMIEN CHAZELLE [LA LA LAND]

(Making a modern day original musical is hard. He deserves it.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

VIOLA DAVIS [FENCES]

(Her snot-filled crying scene should be enough.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

MAHERSHALA ALI [MOONLIGHT]

(His role is small but his presence is felt throughout.)

BEST ACTRESS

EMMA STONE [LA LA LAND]

(Her struggling actress is someone the Academy can relate to.)

BEST ACTOR

DENZEL WASHINGTON [FENCES]

(Casey Affleck is better but marred by past incidents.)

BEST PICTURE

LA LA LAND

(Hollywood likes to see films about themselves. Figures.)

I’ve only got 17 right for the last two years. 21 right the year before that.  Let’s see how I do on Oscar night this Sunday.

Film: The Lego Batman Movie

GENRE: Animation, Action

RATING: PG for some rude humour
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 44 minutes

STARRING: Will Arnett (Arrested Development, BoJack Horseman)

Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad), Rosario Dawson (Luke Cage, Sin City)

DIRECTOR: Chris McKay (Robot Chicken)

WRITERS: Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter),

Jared Stern (The Watch, Dr. Ken), John Whittington (newcomer),

Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (American Dad)

PLOT: Batman realizes he can no longer be a loner when he adopts Dick Grayson and has to deal with Joker’s newest plan.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Really enjoyed The Lego Movie.

STORY STUFF: Despite its Rotten Tomato score, this one is not nearly as good as the original Lego Movie. While there are definitely plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, the story is clunky. It goes too strong on the ‘family is friends’ theme and relationships get all muddled. I guess that tends to happen when five people are writing the script. I did enjoy the numerous references to all the previous Batman films. After the opening scene, I wanted to spend more time with the Batman villains than Batman and the ultra-annoying Robin. Don’t get me wrong though, this was still a fun movie to watch.

ACTING STUFF: Arnett does good work as Batman with his low voice but Michael Cera is insufferable as Dick Grayson. Joker is voiced by Zach Galifianakis (Hangover) but you can’t really tell which is a shame.

ARTISTIC STUFF: This film uses the same style and Red Bull energy as The Lego Movie, which keeps it nicely consistent. I don’t know why they kept Batman’s eyes glowing when it only happens for a couple scenes in Batman vs Superman. Luckily, I was able to watch this without 3-D, so I was less annoyed, overall.

VERDICT: Three stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You’ve watched all the Batman movies and like Lego.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Oscar Predictions

Film: John Wick Chapter 2

GENRE: Action

RATING: R for lots of violence and some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 2 minutes

STARRING: Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Speed, 47 Ronin, Point Break)

Common (Smokin’ Aces, Selma), Ian McShane (Deadwood)

DIRECTOR: Chad Stahelski (John Wick, Matrix – Neo’s stunt double)

WRITER: Derek Kolstad (John Wick)

PLOT: John Wick had a large bounty on his head after repaying a debt.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Thoroughly enjoyed the first John Wick recently.

STORY STUFF: Talk about a fun time at the theatre. Not to sound sexist but this is a guy’s film. Lots of guns and flipping each other over, light on the dialogue. You don’t have to think too hard for this film; it is pure escapism.  It’s a basic storyline of guy kills someone then has to defend himself from countless other killers. Simple and sweet.

ACTING STUFF: Reeves is his focused self and plays it cool as Wick. Laurence Fishburne (Matrix) is barely in the film, not that I like him much anyway. Common does a great job as a rival killer; he has class and menace down. Peter Stormare (Prison Break) is very fun in the beginning; it’s all in the eyes. And Thomas Sadoski (Newsroom) is very funny with only a couple lines to deliver. Fun all around.

ARTISTIC STUFF: A wonderfully choreographed film. Just like the first film, this one is full of killers who hit their targets, bodies flipped over each other with their own weapons used against them, and kill shots like a good assassin should. Also, some cool locales for all the violence. Oh, and I’m a little more frightened of pencils now.    

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You want non-stop gunplay and plenty of head-shots
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Lego Batman Movie

Superbowl Commercials 2017

Canadians were finally able to watch the American Superbowl commercials during the game this year. This sure beat watching CTV run the same ads over and over in previous years. There were some commercials that made me smile and chuckle but they are missing the humour of previous years. I missed the Doritos and Bud Light hilarity of yore. Glad there were no ads for toe fungus or IBS this year. Curious there were no “Don’t Drink and Drive” ads this year, or maybe I missed it. Anyway, this year, I thought I would quickly rank some favourites and include some bad ones as well. Here you go.

SOME OF THE GOOD COMMERCIALS

1. Sprint: Faking Death

No need for celebrities here. Loved the small print and the “Shoot”

2. Skittles: Katie!

I enjoyed the fact that the kid keeps calling her name

3. Avocados from Mexico: Secret Society

Lots of fun jokes and no Scott Baio from last year

4. Honda: Yearbook Photos

Fun inspiration and photos from celebrities.

5. Buick: Kid Cam

Reminded me of Peyton Manning’s SNL skit but still funny

6. Kia: Eco Warrior

Love McCarthy. (Maybe because of her Spicer impersonation last night)

7. Turbo Tax: Humpty Dumpty

Just thought this was cute.

8. NFL: Superbowl Babies

Loved the baby versions of football greats

9. T-Mobile: Martha & Snoop

Best line: Can of bisque?

10. Bai: Timberlake and Walken

Simple and now I’ll remember how it’s pronounced

INSPIRATIONAL COMMERCIAL?

Audi: Progress is for Everyone

Like “Equal Pay for Equal Work” but does Audi promote women to top jobs?

LAME COMMERCIALS

T-Mobile: Celebration Expert

Ugh. Justin Bieber? And why is he dancing like the Six Flags guy?

Mr. Clean: A Man Who Cleans

Eww. Just creepy. I do not need to see those tight pants.

That’s all I got this year. Which ones did you enjoy?

UPCOMING REVIEWS: John Wick Chapter 2, Lego Batman Movie