Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Best Picture Blitz: Update

So, Precocious Daughter and I are not going to see two of the eight films nominated for Best Picture.

Comments are welcome.
We're not going to see Selma because it's not actually playing in any theater in the Dallas area. Way to go, Hollywood, not having one of the Best Picture nominees available for viewing the week before the Academy Awards.

And we're not going to see American Sniper because we both decided that we would rather have a hundred geckos nibble our flesh than see American Sniper, Bradley Cooper notwithstanding.

Not even to see Bradley in short shorts.
For real.
That means we've seen six of the eight nominated films. I haven't yet talked about Birdman.

Birdman was amazing. Brilliantly directed, wonderfully written, endlessly discuss-able.

Special consideration for Edward Norton's
crotchular region.
In my mind, the front-runner for Best Picture is a tie between Birdman and Whiplash, although I don't really believe either will win. Boyhood could take the prize, which would make me happy. A win for American Sniper would indicate that old conservative white people are in charge of the Academy, while Hollywood elite liberal guilt could give the statue to Selma.

I just don't know.

Anyway, PDaughter and I have also screened all of the nominees for Best Animated Short. My favorite in this category is the Norwegian-Canadian entry "Me and My Moulton." Don't be surprised if the Disney entry, "Feast," takes the prize, though.

And before the Oscar telecast on Sunday we may see Russia's entry for Best Foreign Film, Leviathan. It looks fantastic.

Let me know if you've seen Selma and/or American Sniper. I'd like to know if they're worth post-Oscar consideration.

Whatever happens, I'll be live-blogging the Oscars, so get ready.
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4 comments:

  1. SimoreeFebruary 18, 2015 at 10:03 PM

    I saw "American Sniper". It was really dramatized up, and there was a lot of stuff that left me scratching my head, but all in all I liked it. I am also slightly biased to military movies set in WWII and either of the Gulf Wars. My favourites are "Battle of the Bulge", "Saving Private Ryan", "Inglorious Basterds", and topping it? "Black Hawk Down". Very biased lol

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  2. Bill the ButcherFebruary 19, 2015 at 1:51 AM

    I downloaded American Sniper in order to take it apart, just like I did its inglorious predecessor in racist military propaganda, Black Hawk Down. But I couldn't. The flick is so awful I quit in disgust after fifteen minutes. Literally, even Bollywood makes superior movies these days.

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  3. ChristopherFebruary 19, 2015 at 8:31 AM

    You've reminded me I should look up and watch the nominees for Best Animated Short. I love short films (I was thrilled when Studio 360 had a contest for "30 second horror films", and they've followed that up with a contest for "30 second romantic comedies").

    I remember when Showtime and even Nickelodeon would show short films between regular films or shows. Amazing that there was a time when the gaps weren't filled with advertising.

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  4. aeFebruary 19, 2015 at 3:20 PM

    My sweet mother, who sees everything (she goes to the movies with her girlfriends at least once a week) saw Selma and could not stop talking about how good it was and how we needed to see it. Worth noting, she was in nursing school in Atlanta during this era. An era where there were actually two nursing schools - a white and a "colored" school. Same hospital. Same curriculum. Separate but Equal(ish)? She was blown away with Selma. So, on Lucy's word, see it when you can.

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