The Academy Awards: Better than Last Year...But Good?

The 88th Academy Awards have come and gone.  All I can say is PHEW...Mad Max Fury Road didn't win Best Picture.  All is right in the universe.  Though it did beat out some huge films and swept the technical categories taking home Best Production Design, Film Editing, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.  That being said, there were some pretty big upsets.  Ex Machina, one of my personal favorite films of the year took home Best Visual Effects over popular favorites like Star Wars and The Martian which was both surprising and well deserved.  Spotlight, a true underdog in my book, took home the most coveted award of Best Picture which was a delightful shock and Leo finally secured Best Actor for his role in The Revenant.  His acceptance speech was both humble and poignant as he used his time to talk about the problem of global warming and a variety of other world issues.  Brie Larson won Best Actress for her stunning role in the emotionally powerful Room which I'm still DYING to see.  Alejandro Inarritu secured Best Director for The Revenant, his second year in a row (last year he won for Birdman).  Final highlights included Ennio Morricone winning Best Score for his soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's Hateful Eight and Pixar's Inside Out taking home Best Animated feature.  As anyone knows though, the awards are only half the night.  Chris Rock was a great host who kept things light but decidedly topical focusing almost entirely on the lack of diversity in this years nominees.  A speech by the head of the Academy on diversifying Hollywood added a seriousness to Rock's jokes as she addressed the audience directly and called for all involved in the process of making movies to try harder to include more people of color in the film industry.  Overall, the night was just what I've come to expect from the Academy Awards.  A few upsets, some hit and miss jokes, some long winded speeches, and some poor choices.  But hey, at least they raised over $65,000 for the Girl Scouts of America by selling cookies to tipsy celebrities.

The 88th Annual Academy Awards Approaches!

It's February and that means one thing (besides Valentines Day)...the Academy Awards are approaching!!  I have high hopes for this year and maintain the belief that the Oscars is the LAST truly sensible award show.  After the farce that was this years Golden Globes (see my post on The Martian) I'm really hoping the Academy can pull it together to make some wise, multicultural, intelligent picks this year.  Though it seems popular opinion has continuously found it's way into the mix with movies like Mad Max Fury Road getting a nom for Best Picture....give me a break!! That being said there are some truly amazing films and actors up for awards this year.  Best Picture noms include Spielberg's Bridge of Spies and the Boston based Catholic Church drama Spotlight.  Leo is up for Best Actor again for his emotional role in The Revenant who's mastermind Alejandro Inarritu is also up for Best Director.  Jennifer Lawrence is quickly establishing herself as a core part of the next generation of iconic Hollywood actresses and is nominated for her role in Joy.  As far as animation goes, there is only one film in the category in my opinion; Pixar's fabulous Inside Out.  Other things to watch for include whether John Williams will take home his sixth Oscar for Best Original Score for his work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens and whether or not The Martian will win Best Adapted Screenplay (it should!).  In the weeks leading up to the film industries biggest night, stop by the DFL and pick up a Best Picture winner from years past!

The Lego Movie is a Must See

The Lego Movie was……fantastic!!!  I was skeptical when my wife asked me to bring this one home as the commercials showed me nothing more than a movie which was designed for kids to capitalize on the current extreme popularity of all things Lego.  I was sorely mistaken.  The film was laugh out loud funny from start to finish and brought back countless memories through the movies references to classic Lego sets new and old.  The film is an underdog story at its heart and focuses on Emmet Brickowski, an standard construction worker mini figure who goes through the motions of his everyday life in Bricksburg.  Everyone conforms to the rules of society and no one asks any questions.  They all eat the same food and watch the same show, a hilariously simple comedy called “Where Are My Pants?” which is an hysterical take on generic daytime sitcoms.  The point is that Emmet doesn’t have a single original or imaginative thought.  Then one day, he returns to his job site and bumps into the attractive, hair flipping, mysterious girl Wildstyle who is attempting to retrieve The Piece of Resistance to stop the evil President Business from unleashing the devastating power of the Kragle and destroying the known world.  After falling through a hole at the construction site, Emmet ends up finding the Piece and Wildstyle tells him that the prophecy dictates he is “The Special” and is destined to save the world.  Emmet is sucked into an adventure which leads him through the other Lego realms including the Pirate Sea and the Old West.  With the help of Wildstyle, the ancient wizard Vitruvius, Batman, and many other recognizable Lego faces, Emmet learns to become a Master Builder and unleash his imagination in ways he never thought possible.  With Will Ferrell as President Business, Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius, Will Arnett as Batman, and Elizabeth Banks as Wildstyle, the film has an all-star comedic cast which manages to insert plenty of jokes aimed at the older crowd watching the movie.  In the end, the secret behind the Kragle and President Business is revealed in an outcome which is both heartwarming and a tad predictable.  If you’re a fan of Legos then you MUST see this film.  Even if you aren’t it was still a hysterical movie that will no doubt appeal to children and adults alike; a perfect pick for family movie night.