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Ariana said:
Same here. Although that doesn't tell you very much since I'm more excited about the things I can scrape out from under my nails than for Star Wars.

Saw The Walk. I found it very enjoyable and more suspenseful than one would expect. But if you're afraid of heights, you'd better skip it.
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Saw The Walk yesterday and I agree it was better than I expected. Glad at the end (this is not a spoiler) there was no mention of 9/11. That would have ruined the uplifting feeling to that film. The fact that I had no knowledge of Phillip (Joseph's character) amped up the suspense for me because I had no knowledge of the actual event the film depicted.
 
Ariana said:
Eddie Redmayne definitely deserves another Oscar. Poor Leo...
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If Leo gets this one I think it's like for the sake of it finally... :P He had a very difficult and physical role in The Revenant, but not looking far I think Hardy showed much more acting-wise in that film.
 
Srogyy said:
If Leo gets this one I think it's like for the sake of it finally... :p He had a very difficult and physical role in The Revenant, but not looking far I think Hardy showed much more acting-wise in that film.
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I think Leo will only get his Oscar when he makes a film about Leonardo DiCaprio's furious and frustrating quest for an Oscar.
 
By the time the Oscars air, I will have seen every Best Picture nominee (with the possible exception of Room). Currently, I would give it to The Martian - a genre-bending film with great performances and heart. Sorry to those who loved it, but Mad Max's inclusion is a complete joke. It was a marvel of cinematic action, for sure, but the movie itself was soulless and underwritten.

I just saw Joy the other day and found it to be incredibly bland and mostly bad. The narrative choices are peculiar and the direction confusing. Jennifer Lawrence makes the most of a jumbled script, but it's not award worthy. I really hope Saoirse Ronan wins for Brooklyn, but I don't see it happening.

Also, just hand that Oscar to Ennio Morricone. His score was outstanding.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Mad Max's inclusion is a complete joke. It was a marvel of cinematic action, for sure, but the movie itself was soulless and underwritten.
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Nope.

Nope nope nope nope.

Normally, I despise the attitude of you didn't get X. It indicates a level of connection that one person has with a piece of art, that other people aren't sophisticated to get. But I think that you have to watch Mad Max and understand that there is a much deeper connection being made beyond the level of action movie kaboom. It's a harder movie to comprehend due to its action overlays, but yeah. Anyway, I thoroughly disagree that the movie was soulless. I felt it to be a triumph of visual storytelling, of giving me information without having a character on screen telling me information (something that every Star Wars movie from 1-7 is guilty of doing), and on top of all that, crushing together explosive automotive action with an honest and powerful feminism to create a seamless tale. That shit is awesome and deserves recognition.

But I loved The Martian a hell of a lot too. It's my #2.
 
LooseCannon said:
Normally, I despise the attitude of you didn't get X. It indicates a level of connection that one person has with a piece of art, that other people aren't sophisticated to get. But I think that you have to watch Mad Max and understand that there is a much deeper connection being made beyond the level of action movie kaboom. It's a harder movie to comprehend due to its action overlays, but yeah. Anyway, I thoroughly disagree that the movie was soulless. I felt it to be a triumph of visual storytelling, of giving me information without having a character on screen telling me information (something that every Star Wars movie from 1-7 is guilty of doing), and on top of all that, crushing together explosive automotive action with an honest and powerful feminism to create a seamless tale. That shit is awesome and deserves recognition.
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A triumph of visuals, absolutely. It was astonishing and should be commended. But visual storytelling? Please, please tell me what stories were being told beyond Furiosa's desire to find her birth place (a plot point which was completely spelled out in dialogue, btw) and free a group of slave wives from bondage? Max's entire story is a flashback, and an underutilized one at that. The themes of female empowerment and survival are strong, sure, but there is very little story beyond staying alive and finding somewhere safe (preferably with water). I did not see the previous Mad Max films, so I did not give a damn about our "hero" protagonist who spits monosyllables and grunts (which could not even be recorded on set and were literally all ADR - meaning they did not get proper sound on the day, a rare technical failure for the movie). I know that I'm in a vast minority here, but this movie was just that - a movie. Entertaining, big, spectacle-driven, and had some nice themes, but a feat of modern storytelling it is not.

But at least we can agree on The Martian.
 
I agree with @MrKnickerbocker about Mad Max. Fun movie but far from the best this year. Nicholas Hoult's character was best IMO (mostly because he was most quotable).

The only other movie I've seen that has important nominations is The Martian, so it's redundant to say I want it to win. I'll probably see a few more before the ceremony.
 
I'm glad Jennifer Jason Leigh was at least nominated for Hateful Eight. Would be fine with me if she won. Same for Fassbender as Jobs, though he probably won't win. Otherwise I've seen only The Martian (good, but I'm not sure whether it's as great as its supporters claim) and tonight we're going to see the Revenant, so I'll see then.
 
Just saw The Revenant. It is an absolutely stunning piece of work that should easily win every award for cinematography (even over Hateful Eight). I don't think I'll ever watch it again, though.
 
Lampwick 43 said:
Out of curiosity, why not?

For the record, I haven't seen it yet, but I do plan on seeing it sometime next week.
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It's one of those movies that does such a good job of portraying its subject matter that it feels like you experienced it yourself. It's a high, high compliment, but unfortunately movies like that hold zero rewatch value for me.
 
Saw a film this week on Netflix called Come Back To Me which released last year. Suspense mystery with a bit of horror and death metal thrown in. Would not have guessed the end. Advice: don't read the opening credits or research the movie online before you watch it. If you find out the name of the book the movie is based on, it will ruin the ending of the film for you.
 
In the last few days I have:

- finished watching the entire run of The X-Files, including the second film. Can't wait for the new series (TOMORROW)!!!!
- saw Carol and was incredibly disappointed by the intensely melodramatic direction and the wet blanket lead actress.
- saw Bridge of Spies and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. A truly well-made, enjoyable film that manages to tell a spy story in a very unique way. I didn't realize going in that it was a Spielberg film with a script punched up by The Coen Brothers. I'm glad I was in the dark, because I would have had higher expectations going in.
 
Just saw Spotlight. Superbly done, utterly frightening.

The list of places at the end of the movie that have been affected by those assholes in the Catholic Church is extensive. It is sad to see my own small hometown on that list, but it was there. It made me hurt.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
- saw Bridge of Spies and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. A truly well-made, enjoyable film that manages to tell a spy story in a very unique way. I didn't realize going in that it was a Spielberg film with a script punched up by The Coen Brothers. I'm glad I was in the dark, because I would have had higher expectations going in.
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I enjoyed it as well, it had a nice pacing to it, good characters, well done sets, and some really fine acting. It had the feel of a movie made in the a few decades ago (I mean that in a good way)
 
bearfan said:
I enjoyed it as well, it had a nice pacing to it, good characters, well done sets, and some really fine acting. It had the feel of a movie made in the a few decades ago (I mean that in a good way)
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Yeah, Bridge of Spies was good, I liked it a lot. It's quite simple, not demanding, but very enjoyable. They filmed Berlin scenes in Wrocław, Poland. I was living there at the time, some of my friends worked on set. On one hand it's nice to see your city on screen, but on the other hand... they used it as a depressing district from the 50s. :P (Don't worry, the city in general is not like that at all ;))

Spotlight - Fine, but IMO overrated. The story is good, but nothing extraordinary besides that. I think it would have the same impact on me if I read the article instead of watching the film.
 
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