Film: Game Night

GENRE: Comedy

RATING: R for language and violence
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 40 minutes

STARRING: Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses, Arrested Development)

Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)

DIRECTOR: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (Vacation)

WRITER: Mark Perez (Accepted, Herbie Fully Loaded)

PLOT: A game night goes off the rails when a real kidnapping happens.

FULL DISCLOSURE: This looked like some silly fun.

STORY STUFF: This was fun movie. I would compare the humour to that of The Hangover or Horrible Bosses; maybe a little lighter though. I found the storyline entertaining as I enjoy playing games and watching people make fools of themselves being ultra-competitive. There are some very funny moments including gagging while removing a bullet and cleaning blood off a dog. Also some very fun dialogue as well.

ACTING STUFF: Great chemistry all around. Bateman and McAdams are a great match; they are charming, snide, adorable and very funny. In fact, all the main game players are given times to shine. A standout for me was Billy Magnussen (Black Mirror, Bridge of Spies) who plays a slow-minded player. Also enjoyed Lamorne Morris’ (New Girl) Denzel impression.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Not much to say artistically. I enjoyed the games they played. Also liked the detail oriented closing credits.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like games, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams & laughs

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Isle of Dogs, (not sure about Wrinkle in Time)

Oscar Wrap Up

I did a little better in my predictions this year. I got screwed over by Blade Runner 2049 and some shorts, however, Roger Deakins did deserve an Oscar finally. The show was pretty extravagant, especially in the sets. What’s with all the crystals around the stage? Looked like a giant tiara. And those gaudy staircases? Wow. Since it was a big milestone show, I enjoyed seeing the numerous montages. They were very well edited (well, the best picture ones were a little long). Jimmy Kimmel did a fine job and looked pretty comfortable up there. I enjoyed his shortest speech give-away and movie theatre surprise. Unfortunately, he couldn’t pick on Matt Damon this year as he was absent. Funniest presenter goes to Kumail Nanjiani; he is so witty. Highest pants goes to Christopher Walken. The songs were mostly dull this year. If solely based on their Oscar performance, “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman should have won hands down. I still think The Shape of Water is too weird to be best picture, I would have preferred Dunkirk, but oh well. It was a fun night. Here’s who won:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

THE SILENT CHILD

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

DEAR BASKETBALL (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405

SOUND EDITING

DUNKRIK (predicted)

SOUND MIXING

DUNKIRK (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCORE

THE SHAPE OF WATER (predicted)

ORIGINAL SONG

REMEMBER ME (predicted)

VISUAL EFFECTS

BLADE RUNNER 2049

MAKE-UP

DARKEST HOUR (predicted)

COSTUME DESIGN

PHANTOM THREAD (predicted)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE SHAPE OF WATER (predicted)  

FILM EDITING

DUNKIRK (predicted)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

BLADE RUNNER 2049

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

ICARUS (predicted)

ANIMATED FEATURE

COCO (predicted)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

A FANTASTIC WOMAN (predicted)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

GET OUT (predicted)

BEST DIRECTOR

GUILLERMO DEL TORO [THE SHAPE OF WATER] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

ALLISON JANNEY [I, TONYA] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

SAM ROCKWELL [THREE BILLBOARDS…] (predicted)

BEST ACTRESS

FRANCES MCDORMAND [THREE BILLBOARDS…] (predicted)

BEST ACTOR

GARY OLDMAN [DARKEST HOUR] (predicted)

BEST PICTURE

THE SHAPE OF WATER

How did you do?

Oscar Predictions

It’s that time of year again for my fearless Oscar predictions. Acting predictions seem pretty safe. I’m torn with the Best Picture and surprisingly enough the Animated Short. 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

DEKLAB ELEMENTARY

(About a school shooting. Voting happened after Parkland.)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

DEAR BASKETBALL

(Kobe Bryant love letter. Prefer Lou and Garden Party though.)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

HEROIN(E)   

(It’s about the fighting the opiod crisis. Pretty relevant.)

SOUND EDITING

DUNKIRK

(War films usually do well in this category.)

SOUND MIXING

DUNKIRK

(When there is little dialogue, the sound tells the story.)

ORIGINAL SCORE

THE SHAPE OF WATER

(With mute lovers, the music captures the emotions.)

ORIGINAL SONG

REMEMBER ME [COCO]

(Although I’m in love with Greatest Showman songs right now.)

VISUAL EFFECTS

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

(Third times the charm for Andy Serkis and his ape work)

MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING

DARKEST HOUR

(See Gary Oldman. See him as Churchill. Winner.)

COSTUME DESIGN

PHANTOM THREAD

(It’s about dress making. Seems like a no-brainer)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE SHAPE OF WATER

(Del Toro loves a good colour palette. Really sets the mood.)

FILM EDITING

DUNKIRK

(Three different timelines are brilliantly woven together.)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

DUNKIRK

(On land, on sea, in the air, all beautifully shot.)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

ICARUS

(Russian doping scandal exposed. Interesting stuff.)

ANIMATED FEATURE

COCO

(It’s Pixar. It’s about Latinos. Seems like a winner.)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

A FANTASTIC WOMAN [CHILE]

(About a Transgender woman. Apparently powerful.)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

(Wish it was Molly’s Game but this one will get it.)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

GET OUT

(Jordan Peele deserves something for his fine work.)

BEST DIRECTOR

GUILLERMO DEL TORO [THE SHAPE OF WATER]

(This is will be his consolation prize for not winning Best Picture.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

ALLISON JANNEY [I, TONYA]

(Excelled at portraying the worst mother ever.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

SAM ROCKWELL [THREE BILLBOARDS…]

(A really great character arch and more complex than it seems.)

BEST ACTRESS

FRANCES McDORMAND [THREE BILLBOARDS…]

(It’s a powerful role and she plays it so well.)

BEST ACTOR

GARY OLDMAN [DARKEST HOUR]

(It’s about time he got one. And what an awesome performance.)

BEST PICTURE

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI

(Shape of Water seems a little too weird for Oscar)

Only got 15 last year, 17 the year before. Gotta do better. My record is 21 three years ago. Let’s see how I do on Oscar night this Sunday. Fingers crossed.