Operation Oscar Special Edition

Happy Oscar Sunday, y'all! For many, the Oscars mean nothing but for Jordan and I, they are special. We have a tradition of watching the movies and then watching the Oscars together while we feast on our favorite junk foods.  This year, Jordan has once again watched everything nominated in major categories but because my schedule has been ridiculous and honestly because I dropped the ball a little I haven't seen all of them.  I was able to watch every movie nominated for best picture though so I'm happy with that.  I don't have a ton of time to go over each movie but I did want to give my two cents in case anyone cared.

The first movie is The Big Short.  This is a movie about the housing market crash in 2008.  It has some huge stars like Christian Bale, Brad Pitt and Steve Carell.  I really liked the movie.  It was a bit long but the actors in it were amazing and it provided smart insight to the world of economics which I know nothing about in an entertaining way.  I think my favorite part was the fact that Ryan Gosling's character narrated it and spoke directly to the audience.  He even did these breakaways where celebrities that were unrelated to the movie would have a scene in which all they did was explain complicated economic theories to the camera and then they would resume the movie.  I had never seen that before but I decided I liked it.  It was cool to get an explanation from Selena Gomez one scene and then Margot Robbie in another.  I think all nominations are deserved.

The second movie is Bridge of Spies. This is a Spielberg/Hanks production so in theory, it should be the best thing since sliced bread.  Good: yes. Life changing: No. The story is interesting and the tension is solid for most of the movie but I found it to be a bit slow and underwhelming.  I also thought there were some weird plot holes.  It seemed like a couple of things were brewing but never did.  I was also super annoyed that everyone spent the entire movie blowing their  nose. I get it; it was cold but maybe they could have saved me 20 minutes.

The third movie is Brooklyn. Y'all, this is my favorite movie of the bunch BY FAR.  It doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning but it is probably the only one I feel an urgent need to own.  It's a love story intermingled with the complex struggle of Irish immigration to America. This particular movie is set in the early 50s but I think the topic can be applied today as well.  She was in search of the American Dream.  It wasn't a perfect movie but It gave me the feels and it's one I wanted to watch again before I even got done watching the others.

Fourth we have, Mad Max: Fury Road. I feel like someone else is better suited to talk about this movie.  It's shot well, it's cool that women roles were prominent but I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy a single second of the movie.  It just isn't my kind of film.  I know several people that loved it but I didn't. That's all I will say.

The fifth movie is The Martian. I thought this was a fun and interesting movie.  It's certainly in the top tier of the bunch this year.  Matt Damon is great and the science of the movie is fascinating.  It looks amazing too. The climax of the movie seems a bit far-fetched but not enough to hurt it.  Not the best space movie in recent years (I think Interstellar was mind-blowing) but not the worst (not a Gravity fan).

Sixth is The Revenant. I should mention that I've been in love with Leonoardo DiCaprio for over half my life so maybe I'm a bit biased but if he doesn't win this year, I will more than likely set something on fire.  This guy bit into a beef liver and crawled inside a horse cavity just to entertain you people.  Also, he totes cares about the environment.  I can honestly say I will probably never watch the movie again because it's too intense, heartbreaking and gross but it was kind of incredible.  Beautifully shot. Great acting. Nice historical storytelling.  I got a bit stressed when thinking about how he got down from this one cliff and also how he went from having a dead, broken foot to walking around like he owned the joint but that's the only place where I felt they could have done a better job.  The bear scene is incredibly realistic and disturbing.

The seventh movie is Room. I would say this is probably my second favorite movie.  It's beautifully done and better than I expected.  The first 75% of the movie is so tense. I was anxious most of the time.  I think the kid should have been nominated as well. I think the only part that could have been better is the role played by William H. Macy.  It was a bit underdeveloped.

Finally, the movie Spotlight.  I don't see me ever watching this one again either because I don't typically want to casually watch movies about child molestation but it was a really solid movie.  The acting was great and it was interesting to see all the hard work that should go into journalistic reporting.  It was so revealing and upsetting in terms of what the lengths the Catholic church went to to hide these horrible acts and then to imagine what the children went through.

I was able to catch a few other movies from the list that weren't just nominated for best picture. I saw The Hateful Eight. Jennifer Jason Leigh is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.  This was a classic Tarantino movie but it was a bit gratuitous without the merit that only a few movies of his have.  I wasn't a fan. I also saw Straight Outta Compton which was fantastic.  I think it got completely robbed and I truly hope that the Oscars fulfill their promise to become more diverse and I also hope that Hollywood starts giving acting roles to deserving actors regardless of race.  I haven't seen Creed but I have a feeling Michael B. Jordan was robbed as well. I saw Joy. As much as I love Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper with Robert DeNiro thrown in the mix, this movie was just OK.  I loved that it featured QVC but it was slow and the characters were flat and annoying. Finally I saw Inside Out. This was an animated film for kids with adult ideas about the way in which we think.  I loved it.

I'm super disappointed that I didn't get to watch The Danish Girl, Steve Jobs, Trumbo and Carol but I plan on watching them soon. Based on what I've seen and liked, my favorite movie: Brooklyn. Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio. Actress: Brie Larson. Best Director: Lenny Abrahamson. Supporting Actor: Christian Bale. Supporting Actress: Rachel McAdams. (I haven't seen several of the movies in these categories so it's not really a fair assessment. I'm not great at predictions so I won't make any here but I'll let you know if there are any life changing movies I notice after I watch the rest of them.