Selma

This would have been cheaper than tickets.

Into the (Mother Fucking) Woods

In one word....



Well said, Charles Nelson Reilly.

It was cute and everyone did a fine job singing but for a cutesy movie it was just too long.  And predictable -- and not in that 'oh look my favorite fables are in this movie' kinda way but just ....well, boring.  I was impressed at most of the singing as these actors (save Anna Kendrick of course) are not your typical musical actors and I liked that people died - so not too sappy.  But it ends there.

 I thought Frozen was better.

American Sniper

I had to digest this movie before I could blog about it.  While it is a hard movie to watch, I do feel it accurately portrays (with a dash of Hollywood flair) what certain military situations are like for many of our soldiers. When I came out of the movie I had to ask myself, "Did I just see the same movie that the country is arguing for / against??".  

To say this movie glorifies killing or completely celebrates/or demeans our part in the wars of the Middle East is stupid.  War is not that simple.  I support our troops but am intelligent enough to know that our military is a sampling of our population so we are going to have a lot of crack-pot-jacked-up-nut-case-assholes just like we do in our everyday life.  Not everyone is a hero.  Also-- supporting our troops in NO WAY means we support the conflicts in which they are asked to fight.

That being said, it is clear Chris Kyle had a gift for sharp shooting and did NOT take a lot of glory in all the killings.  The same can not be said of those around him or those at home who worshiped him.  He wanted to protect his brothers and his country.  He figured out early - via the telescopic scope of his weapon-- war is a mind-fuck and most of the time it is killed or be killed.  Unless you are faced with that day after day, there is no way to be able to put yourself in that exact mindset.  

I think Bradley Cooper played Chris Kyle just perfectly- and while I do not agree with the number of nominations this film received, I do think it should be celebrated for his performance and they way it was put together.  Fault should not be placed with the film itself but in the way some groups / people / both political parties have injected their own idiotic ideas into it.  Just experience it for what it was created to be- one man's story of war.

As for the comment that 'sniper's are cowards' - I mean c'mon, really?  In the situations of kill or be killed, snipers seem to be a sadly needed layer of protection.  Having family serving still in the Middle East- hey, do whatever you need so they can come home safely.  

That being said, I HATE that we are there, I don't agree with it and wish we could 100% pull out.  As a woman, I couldn't help but wonder what a better place the world would be with less testosterone in it-- and would we ladies do better if we ran the world?  This Ladyfriend thinks yes.

I am angry at how many times I just had to type the name of this movie for the ballot. Really, truly angry.

Uhm -  huh? 

What? What'd I miss?

Imitation Game

 Ok, ok- the minion who looks like Issac from Love Boat wasn't in the Imitation Game but I needed something to cheer me up after the end of that film.  

It is an interesting story and I enjoyed the film but the last 15 minutes or so rather did me in to the point of liquid welling up in my eyes.  This mystery liquid did not spill onto my cheeks but there was some sniffing.  This liquid was for the treatment of Alan Turing -for everything he endured and  also the realization of how little we know how our own lives are governed and what very little control we have over it.  What will surface about our own time in 50 years when it's deemed 'safe' by the powers that be?  

Strong performances by a good cast- I loved the nerdy details and despite my horror at their solution, I can totally see why they had to arrive at that sad conclusion.  I can forgive that. The saying 'War is Hell' exists for a reason.  The treatment of Mr. Turing, though, I can not.  No excuse for it- especially after everything he gave for his country.  THAT is unforgivable.

Theory of Everything

Look, Eddie Redmayne does a great job of bringing Steven Hawking's story to life and so does the rest of the cast - but for me it was just an ok film.  I totally get any actor nominations but not best film.  Nope, just don't see it.

  1.  How did I not know he was British?  I may lose my nerd card for not knowing that.

2.  How the hell did Eddie contort his head/shoulders/face like that and it not stick?

3.  I learned a great deal about Steven Hawking but I still do not like him.  

So nah.

Whiplash

Miles Teller makes a brilliant leap from angry twat in Divergent to a percussion prodigy in the film Whiplash.  His performance is spot on genius right down to his sick drumming skills.  

J.K. Simmons proves he is way more than a character in an insurance commercial.  His performance had me going from laughing out loud to cringing in my seat.  I love every profanity-laced sentence out of his mouth.

This movie is gritty, captivating, and raw and let's not forget the uncredited character of the movie-- the music.  Every note, every measure, every song is pure delight.  I frickin' loved it.  Every second of it - hands down my favorite film thus far.  For me, this is the must -see movie of Oscar season.

Birdman

So I went in with little knowledge of the film and little expectation.  I came out really liking this film in an odd way.  Consequently, the 5 chatty, 50+ gaggle of women in the theater with me did not feel the same, they did not care for this picture.  Suck it ladies, here is why I liked it:

It is a honest, weird, funny, and dramatic story told pretty well via characters that seem incredibly real. Watching the dynamics and the relationships of all the characters was just plain interesting.  Holy shit does Micheal Keaton look OLD in this film....but he delivers a wonderfully complicated performance.  You are always wondering "is he losing it or am I losing it?".

The camera work did make a bit queasy in parts with all that jiggling around but it was entertaining from start to finish.

I also like to think that Edward Norton acts exactly like this in real life.  C'mon, you know he does.

Foxcatcher- holy shit snacks

Creepy and uncomfortable to watch- that is how I describe this movie.  It is creepy and uncomfortable because Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo both put in a great performance (Channing Tatum isn't too bad either but I find he is a better actor when he looks hot).  

Steve completely nails the psychotic little troll that is John E. du Pont.  And it freaked me out.

The top three things I took away from this movie:

1.  I loathe wrestling and this movie intensified that feeling.

2.  Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum have never looked more unattractive than they did in this movie but Steve Carell earned that Oscar nomination with this performance.

3.  I am very glad I saw this movie - such a tragic story - but I wish to never see it again. 

The (not so) Grand Budapest Hotel

Seriously, with this cast how can this movie suck so badly?  This movie can only be appreciated by the deaf who's closed-captioning has been turned off.  I found the movie beautiful to look at but that is all.  I may have chuckled a few times (and have stolen the line 'shaking like a shitting dog') but overall it is a dull, poorly written film with many sluggish moments that make you wish it was over. Booo Wes Anderson, Boooo.

If all Richard Linklater had brought was the gimmick of filming some kid actors as they grew up it might have been tedious but what he has given us is the story of a family that never has a cliche ‘ah-ha’ moment on film. There are no long talks about self and one’s role in the universe, there are no breakthrough confrontations that end with child understanding parent and parent discovering child.

This really is a movie about life. It’s simple, it’s messy, it’s sad, it's normal. A thousand small insignificant moments entwined with life changes both major and minor and just like life they are not dissected or heralded with fanfare, they just occur and the family moves on.

Nothing ‘happens’ and I think that’s maybe why I liked it so much. While there are no big events, the consequences of life’s everyday decisions are shown over the course of a decade.

Now onto the hook. It IS fascinating watching these actors grow up. How they change; how they don’t change. How they stay the same for so long and then bam you see them again and they are taller, skinnier, curvier. I enjoyed Linklater’s treatment of this because while it is the most compelling element of the film, it is never alluded to and I appreciated the fact he did not feel the need to hit me over the head with boobs/voice changing/hormones-are-in-control conversations.

This is also a movie about parents without being ‘about parenthood’ and Ethan Hawke gives, for me, the best performance of his life (though I’m an Ethan-hater by nature). It’s a movie about everything and nothing in particular.

And The Nomination Goes To...

Best Picture

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

The Theory of Everything

Selma

Whiplash

Best Director

Birdman, Alejandro Inarritu

Boyhood, Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher, Bennett Miller

The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson

The Imitation Game, Morten Tyldum

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard

Felicity Jones

Julianne Moore

Rosamund Pike

Reese Witherspoon

Best Actor

Steve Carell

Bradley Cooper

Benedict Cumberbatch

Michael Keaton

Eddie Redmayne

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette

Laura Dern

Keira Knightly

Emma Stone

Meryl Streep

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall

Ethan Hawke

Edward Norton

Mark Ruffalo

J.K. Simmons

For the complete list Oscar Nominations 2015