My Reaction to the Oscar Nominees

The Oscars are always one of my favorite events of year. Even when I don’t agree with some of the nominees and winners, it’s still a fun show and I love having a celebration of the year in film. Well, the nominees for the 87th Academy Awards were announced a few days ago, and I’ve finally gotten all my thoughts on them straight.

DISCLAIMER: All film is subjective, so just like my reviews this list will be completely opinion-based.

BEST PICTURE

American Sniper: This should definitely not be on here. Great lead performance, bad movie.

Birdman: Terrific. This belongs here, and is probably gonna be the winner.

Boyhood: This is my pick for most overrated movie of the year. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t enthralled by it like most people.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Sure, why not?

The Imitation Game: My favorite movie on this list, but it doesn’t have a strong chance of winning.

Selma: CONTROVERSY: It was just okay. Not worth a nomination in my opinion.

The Theory of Everything: Very nice to see this nominated.

Whiplash: Even nicer to see this nominated. One of the best movies of the year, and it gets better every time I see it. If I haven’t seen it I won’t comment.

Will win: Either Birdman or Boyhood

Should win: The Imitation Game

BEST ACTOR

Steve Carrell, Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper, American Sniper: In a weaker year, I would’ve put him on here. But this was a stacked year, and I would rather have seen David Oyelowo or Jake Gyllenhaal in his spot.

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game: He belongs here for sure.

Michael Keaton, Birdman: So does he. One of Keaton’s best performances.

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything: Yet another extremely strong contender. This is Redmayne’s best performance to date.

Will and should win: Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything: I loved her performance. She belongs her for sure.

Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl: YES YES YES!! I would’ve freaked out if she wasn’t nominated.

Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Will win: Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Should win: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Robert Duvall, The Judge: He’s got no chance, but he was the best part of that movie and deserves a nomination.

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood: He should be on here. The parents in Boyhood were much more compelling than Mason.

Edward Norton, Birdman: Another great performance in a movie filled with them.

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash: This is a very strong category, but I don’t see how he doesn’t win.

Will and should win: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood: She and Ethan Hawke made the movie watchable for me. That enough is worth win.

Laura Dern, Wild

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game: Knightley has come a long way in the last few years, and this is a vindication of all her efforts.

Emma Stone, Birdman: She was terrific.

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods: I didn’t like the movie. It was about an hour too long. But Streep was great, same as always.

Will and should win: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: I don’t like this category. It exists only to give the Academy an excuse not to nominate animated films for Best Picture. BUT HOW THE HELL DOES THE LEGO MOVIE NOT GET NOMINATED? I don’t use the term snub lightly, but this is a snub.

Big Hero 6: I loved it. Lots of fun, and yet another credit to Disney.

The Boxtrolls: I enjoyed it, and it’s nice to see it get nominated.

How to Train Your Dragon 2: Without The Lego Movie in competition, this is my clear favorite.

Song of the Sea

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Will and should win: How to Train Your Dragon 2

BEST DIRECTOR

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman: This is the first time that I can honestly say he did a great job directing. He did a truly amazing job.

Richard Linklater, Boyhood: I wouldn’t put him on here. I don’t think he did a very good job creating a compelling story. But I appreciate his ambition.

Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel: A good one for Anderson to get nominated for.

Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game: It wasn’t very showy direction, but Tyldum told this story very well and pulled good performances out of everyone.

Will and should win: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jason Hall, American Sniper: No thanks.

Graham Moore, The Imitation Game: I’m surprised this is Moore’s first screenplay. He did a fantastic job.

Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice: I love PTA, but this screenplay was not a strong one.

Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything: A great screenplay. He deserves the nomination.

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash: Yet another great screenplay.

Will win: Too close to call.

Should win: Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo, Birdman: With a movie this good, how can the screenplay not be nominated?

Richard Linklater, Boyhood: I wouldn’t give it to him, but I understand why he’s nominated. I was an ambitious effort.

E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, Foxcatcher

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (story), The Grand Budapest Hotel: I’m kind of surprised to see this get so many nominations, but I can’t complain.

Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler: A better movie than any of these, and yet this is its only nomination. Glad to see it get something.

Will win: All those unpronounceable names, Birdman

Should win: Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler

So, there’s all the big ones. I might not agree with all the Academy’s decisions, but that doesn’t matter. Like all art forms, film is subjective, and it’s nice to see that people have varying opinions. I’m sure this year’s show will be a lot of fun, especially with all of the surprises. The Lego Movie not getting nominated is insane, though.

“American Sniper” Review

American Sniper is one of those movies that should really intrigue me, but I’ve had mixed feelings about it for a long time. It’s a biopic about the late Chris Kyle, the legendary sniper who killed (possibly) a few hundred enemy combatants. Bringing him to life is Bradley Cooper, who just keeps getting better and better. But director Clint Eastwood has been on a cold streak for more than half a decade. He’s made a lot of great movies stretching back to the 70s, but more and more it’s looking as if he’s lost his touch. However, the trailers slowly won me over. Cooper looked great, and I was hoping that Eastwood could give us one last home run. I dared to dream, but sadly not all dreams come true.

Premise: American Sniper follows the life of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) and struggles with his military career, family life, and psychological scars left over from duty.

Pros: As I said before, Bradley Cooper is a magnificent actor. Whether he takes on meaty award bait, summer blockbusters or comedy, he almost always knocks it out of the park. While he probably won’t win any awards for American Sniper (the next Oscars’ Best Actor category is gonna be a battleground), it’s yet another showcase for his talent. He plays Chris Kyle as a soft-spoken individual who, when put in the field, can do pretty much anything with a rifle. One of the things that makes Cooper’s performance so interesting is how he captures the duality of Kyle’s personality; he’s a consummate professional, but he also wants to be a family man. While it’s not entirely original, Cooper brings heart to material that needed much more.

If there’s one thing Clint Eastwood has proven he can do, it’s gunfights, and when the movie focuses on combat it works (for the most part). The battles are smaller in scale than the ones found in Eastwood’s previous war films, but they make up for it with their sheer tensity. What’s even better is that they show how insanely dangerous Kyle was. Whatever people thought of him back home, while he was in Iraq he was an efficient soldier and killer.

Cons: Despite the earnest efforts of Eastwood and writer Jason Dean Hall, American Sniper suffers from a poor story. The main problem is what is being focused on. Without giving any details away, the most potentially interesting parts of Kyle’s story are either underdeveloped or brushed aside all together, and the more mundane parts are pushed front and center. The sad part is the more mundane parts of Chris Kyle’s life could’ve made an interesting story. I love a good homecoming story where veterans have to readjust to civilian life. But the way it was told was very underwhelming, with Eastwood’s direction often feeling flat and lifeless.

War is never black and white, but the makers American Sniper didn’t seem to understand that. Chris Kyle is all too often portrayed as just a badass war hero, and to be fair he was. But he was also a morally complex man with lots of shortcomings who made his name by killing people. Few of these ambiguities make it into the film, and Kyle is left feeling a bit too perfect aside from some half-hearted attempts to make appear tortured later on. Soldiers should be treated with respect, but should celebrate their service to America, not their body counts (although those can be pretty astounding).

Verdict: American Sniper could and should’ve been an Oscar-worthy movie, but like all of Clint Eastwood’s post-Gran Torino output disappoints. Aside from over-simplifying Chris Kyle, it has a dull, lifeless, poorly-told story that doesn’t do justice to Kyle’s fascinating life. Bradley Cooper and the sniping scenes are great, but I can’t recommend the film as a whole.

Score: C-

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro. Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman. Directed by James Gunn.

I think pretty much everyone agrees that in making Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel was taking a massive risk. It’s a property that few people have even heard, and the film takes inspiration from the newer incarnation, which didn’t sell very well. The director isn’t very well known outside of geek circles, most of the casting choices had the potential to end in disaster. Even if I was really excited for it I was a little bit apprehensive. Turns out there was no need to be scared, as Guardians of the Galaxy is one of Marvel’s absolute best.

Premise: Earthling Peter Quill steals a mysterious orb that happens to be sought by a genocidal warlord. A bunch of misfits converge on Quill and the orb and they must team up to stop this threat to the galaxy.

Pros: Let’s start with the Guardians themselves, the ragtag bunch of misfits that are our heroes. They. Were. AWESOME! In fact, they were so awesome that I have to devote a paragraph to each one.

-Let’s start with Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord. He’s a human stuck in a galaxy filled with colorful species, but don’t let that fool you; he’s one of Marvel’s most memorable characters to date. He’s basically Tony Stark as a thief IN SPACE, with all the awesomeness that entails. He’s extremely charming, with a goofy yet deadpan sense of humor. But he’s not just a lot of talk. Underneath all that charm is someone who can and will kick your ass.

-Gamora was probably the least risky character, and my least favorite of the Guardians, but that’s not to say I didn’t like her. Far from it. As a daughter of Thanos, Gamora’s been trained from an early age to kill anyone who displeases him. Too bad she’s planning of betraying him. Zoe Saldana does a good job at softening the character up, so she’s not only cool but very likable.

-Rocket will probably go down as the fan favorite, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s a genetically mutated raccoon that happens to be a bounty hunter AND a genius. How could you not think he’s cool? But Rocket is also immensely sympathetic. You can tell that he’s been through a lot, and he definitely has an inferiority complex. He wants to be treated as a normal…eh, Raccoon-type being, but he’s considered a freak by almost everyone, including himself. Unfortunately, the surly attitude doesn’t prevent him from being a team-player, and he’s definitely the brains of the team. Props go out to Bradley Cooper for helping to make this difficult character work so well.

-Groot. A sentient tree. There were so many ways he could’ve gone wrong, but the forces of the universe made sure he worked. Groot is probably the nicest of the Guardians, being the only straight hero. Doesn’t stop him from being one of the groups toughest fighters. He’s also incredibly charming. Even though he only says three words over and over, they speak volumes to the kind of creature he is; a caring, adorable guy who still not afraid to go toe to toe with all the galaxy’s unsavory characters.

-I’ve saved the best for last. Drax the Destroyer. He’s definitely the dark horse of the group. I wasn’t expecting as much from him, but he ended up being my favorite character in the whole movie. Of course he’s a big tough guy, being played by Dave Bautista and all. But as a man who lost his wife and child, he gains a lot of sympathy. Drax is also hilarious; he’s so literal-minded that a significant portion of his lines WILL make you laugh. He’s probably not gonna get as much praise as he deserves, but he was definitely the guy I was rooting for the most.  

I know some people will disagree, but I even liked the villains. Ronan the Accuser’s getting some flack for being a lot like Malekith from Thor: The Dark World, one of the MCU’s weakest villains. But Ronan is definitely an upgrade, having a clear motivation and actually being able to take on pretty much anyone in his way. They wisely don’t dwell on his backstory, taking care of it with a few lines. Plus, Lee Pace is a wonderfully large ham. Nebula, played by Karen Gillan (who I have a massive crush on), is even better. At first I was turned off by her deadpan deliver, but then I released that’s exactly how a true daughter of Thanos would act. As an emotionless, cold-hearted bitch focused solely on the job.

Yondu, the mercenary played by Michael Rooker, was also great. I didn’t expect him to be in the movie as much as he was, and every moment was on screen was pure gold. He’s so cool and so funny that I almost want him to get his own spinoff.

Good action is a must in any Marvel film, and Guardians of the Galaxy delivers just like any of the others. To the extent that such a thing is possible, the action’s a lot more down to earth that Marvel’s other efforts, lacking superheroics and having a more gritty and dirty feel. But it always stays fun. There’s an especially good prison break scene that made me squeal with delight. 

Guardians of the Galaxy is funny. Along with The Avengers, it’s Marvel’s funniest film. There’s plenty of amusing sight gags, including an absolutely hilarious mid-credits scene with Groot. But the biggest laughs come from the dialogue. Of course Star-Lord and Rocket have a lot of big laughs. When you’re played by Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper it’s practically a must. But Drax definitely stood out, having some of the best delivery, and you can tell Dave Bautista is having fun. How Marvel can top this one I have no idea.

Cons: It’s hard to think of anything major, but here’s two small things. Korath was kind of a throwaway villain. I think Djimon Hounsou did fine, but the character could’ve been an extra and nobody would’ve noticed. Also, I’m still not sold on Josh Brolin as Thanos. I’ve always thought the casting was a mistake, and here he’s quite wooden. But he’s not in the movie long enough to have any real effect on my enjoyment, so who cares?

Verdict: Guardians of the Galaxy rises to the occasion and becomes not just one of the best movies of the year, but one of the best comic book movies ever, certainly in the top five. And don’t worry, the Guardians will return, hopefully with a vengeance.

Score: 9/10 

American Hustle Review

Premise: A couple of cons cut a deal with the FBI to take down a group of government officials. Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Michael Pena, and Jack Huston. Directed by David O’Russell.

Pros: First and foremost, the performances in American Hustle are nothing short of incredible. Bale, Adams, and Cooper are all but guaranteed to snag Oscar nominations, and the supporting cast does a good job as well, but the standouts are Lawrence and Renner. Everybody’s least favorite Avenger plays one of the most likable crooked politicians ever brought to the screen. With this film, I’m almost convinced that Jennifer Lawrence can do no wrong; every line, every action of hers is done with such gusto and confidence, and even what should be the most cheesy sequence of the year is made something cool by her.

The film has a very, very, late seventies vibe to it, and the it only helps. Everything, from the music, to the sets, to the clothes, to the perms feels authentic and vibrant. I felt like I was watching a bizarre mix of Goodfellas and Boogie Nights, and I loved almost every minute. On a scene by scene basis, this is was one of the most entertaining films of 2013.

Cons: You could be forgiven for thinking that American Hustle is more of a performance piece than a great story, and that’s because it is. The characters are great, but in focusing purely on the them, David O’Russell sacrifices many a great opportunity for truly great plot. The plot itself can get pretty convoluted, with too many threads where they didn’t need to be. The film also rarely delves into the morality of the situation, the consequence being that the FBI comes off as far more villainous than the actual crooks.

Verdict: American Hustle is a very entertaining, well acted film that doesn’t quite deliver on all of its promises. Doesn’t detract from the fact that I give it a very enthusiastic recommendation. Overall, I give it 8 out of 10.