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!

Episode Three of Music and Movies with Mike and Ted

Episode three of our podcast is up and running!  We discuss award shows, whether the Grammy's is a popularity contest, and our five favorite comedies of all time!  Give it a listen and stay tuned for more episodes to come!  Next week we plan on discussing movie franchises and how many only serve to destroy a once fabulous film.  We're looking at you Indiana Jones!

Music and Movies with Mike and Ted - Episode 3

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2015

The inductees have been announced and it's another big year for music in all genres.  Amazingly, So-Cal punks Green Day have been chosen in their first year of eligibility sparking furious debates all over the interwebs.  Also selected were Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (how she never made it in before now is beyond me) and blues rock aficionados Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble.  The late great Lou Reed will also be inducted.  Already in as a member of the Velvet Underground, it's sad that Reed didn't make it long enough to see his solo work recognized in such a way.  Several artists which I'm sure many fans believed were shoe-ins were left off the list dashing their hopes until next year.  Bands that missed the mark include The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, and N.W.A.  Many have argued that bands as influential to modern music as The Smiths should have been picked long before Billy Joe and co. but clearly those people have never heard "Jesus of Suburbia" or "Longview".