tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87591399366029549122024-02-07T16:12:57.636-05:00On lollipops and crispsLet's see what I can doLindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-21301000083161028742020-01-26T22:02:00.000-05:002020-01-26T22:20:28.666-05:002019 Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've had this in draft for a few weeks in the hope I could sneak in some more movies to increase my number (56, one shy of last year), but decided since I keep just watching Great British Bake Off, it's time to call it. What a wonderful year for movies! I saw many of these multiple times, and there are just so many of the below that I absolutely loved. So much, I've added a few notes but a few of my faves or by the movies that I couldn't just let make this list without some sort of comment. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've gone back and forth with placement, and should you ask me in another week or so, things may have moved around again, but for now, here's the rundown. I also have a best of the decade post in the works, so stand by for that. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This list is mostly presented alphabetically by category except for the movies where I wrote notes, purely for format sake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Perfect</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apollo 11</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Irishman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parasite</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Little Women - </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-style: italic;">Women have minds and souls as well as just hearts, and they’ve got ambition and talent as well as just beauty. And I’m sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it! </span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-style: italic;">But </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-style: italic;">– I’m so lonely!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><i>" </i>I can't stop thinking about this movie and this part. Hit me to my core. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Marriage Story - Adam Driver is 2019's MVP, and I dare anyone to watch him read the letter at the end of this movie and say otherwise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Greatness</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1917</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Booksmart</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Farewell</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Knives Out</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pain & Glory</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uncut Gems</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rocketman - As many of you probably know, this movie sent me into a temporary? Elton-induced madness. I saw it an embarrassing number of times in theaters, listened to only Elton John for months and traveled to Philly to see the man himself. What can I say? Sometimes you love something unabashedly that defies reason. </span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Insanity</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lighthouse</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Midsommar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Very Good</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ad Astra</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dolomite Is My Name</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Downton Abbey</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Last Black Man in San Francisco</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Toy Story 4</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Us</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ford v Ferrari - I cried my face off at this movie, mostly because it's something my dad would have loved. The scene where Matt Damon takes Mr. Ford for a ride is so exhilarating, it still gives me chills thinking about it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hustlers - I absolutely loved this movie. The scene at the end where J. Lo loses it on Constance Wu is one of my favorite of the year. "We were fucking hurricanes, weren't we?" Yes, you were J. Lo 😭</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Solid</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bombshell</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Report</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Spider-Man: Far From Home</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Two Popes</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Brittany Runs A Marathon - I'm not ashamed to admit that this movie inspired me to recommit to running. TBD if I'll go for just a half marathon. I will never do a full. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Long Shot - This movie was delightful and I'm sad it came and went went with so little fanfare. Please watch, and enjoy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Just Fine</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Judy</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Late Night</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Laundromat</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Lion King</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Joker - A great performance does make a great movie. In this case, it makes a movie that is getting praise that I'm annoyed by. Everyone calm down. It's a complete crib of Marty with a good actor. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker- Moments of greatness (THAT SMILE) sadly couldn't lift this out of this category. I was proud that I feel like I managed my expectations correctly and so I ended up having a lot of fun despite some story choices that I hated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Silly But Fine</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Captain Marvel</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fighting With My Family</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good Boys</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Isn’t It Romantic?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The LEGO Movie: The Second Part</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Little</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hobbs & Shaw - Everything I wanted it to be. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Last Christmas - Defies all logic but Henry Golding is charming, and London at Christmas is everything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Meh</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Richard Jewel</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Stuber</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yesterday - I wanted this to be so much better. Great premise, terribly executed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Not Good</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charlie’s Angels</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Hustle - Frank Oz, Michael Caine and Steve Martin should have somehow stopped this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Terrible</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aladdin</span><br />
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</style>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-70945941265859401472019-02-17T23:34:00.002-05:002019-02-18T17:20:07.153-05:002018 Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNogIoiCgZN3xcd2s1-oMXw-kCLlYAVUic9YT4L_vW_9IUFv9zcv65h_7p5j18XJGFX3xThz8Vqws2vvJSBwt_536teCUbGxNP-u9UkI80Wo_rUf2nYITLlZyHNcvII6YURS-UkcKHqIz/s1600/spiderman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNogIoiCgZN3xcd2s1-oMXw-kCLlYAVUic9YT4L_vW_9IUFv9zcv65h_7p5j18XJGFX3xThz8Vqws2vvJSBwt_536teCUbGxNP-u9UkI80Wo_rUf2nYITLlZyHNcvII6YURS-UkcKHqIz/s320/spiderman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This year's rundown comes late and sadly feels incomplete. But with The Oscars next weekend, I need to call it. And though my number is up from last year (57, up from 45), I still feel as though I missed out on a lot. Alas, here is my annual ranking. What is too high? What is too low? What did I miss? Come at me.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Perfect</u></b><br />
The Favourite<br />
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse<br />
<br />
<b><u>Greatness</u></b><br />
Black Panther<br />
BlackkKlansman<br />
If Beale Street Could Talk<br />
First Man<br />
Mary Poppins Returns<br />
Mission Impossible: Fallout<br />
RBG<br />
Roma<br />
A Star Is Born<br />
Widows<br />
Won't You Be My Neighbor?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUu2DxIB1V9SQdayefg8y8HvDNNQCk-Xm7zWeSYym059oVFNnx3WmxPfvsX-FaRS2hWuawLWSuKp5zK5fUxPgDbkZV9breGma6xvosW-FYoSGKSeJxRzDje8_-6kL4v774XMgzRoAa2qms/s1600/a-simple-favor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUu2DxIB1V9SQdayefg8y8HvDNNQCk-Xm7zWeSYym059oVFNnx3WmxPfvsX-FaRS2hWuawLWSuKp5zK5fUxPgDbkZV9breGma6xvosW-FYoSGKSeJxRzDje8_-6kL4v774XMgzRoAa2qms/s320/a-simple-favor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Very Good</u></b><br />
Annihilation<br />
Blaze<br />
Crazy Rich Asians<br />
First Reformed<br />
Isle of Dogs<br />
Love, Simon<br />
A Simple Favor<br />
Tea With The Dames<br />
A Quiet Place<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluukWCIcraetDh4R4fpCuLLb9f03yWNsl6GtzCqR6aErcAx4qELOay5Iu7qE2UnDu2RTY1RzGySzc-jiFkbQ2_j93HA80mrF-cRJCWoa-EYlrsXlwiwwAk0ZjXH0P9J2JHXeGTcnCuUf-/s1600/vice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="700" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluukWCIcraetDh4R4fpCuLLb9f03yWNsl6GtzCqR6aErcAx4qELOay5Iu7qE2UnDu2RTY1RzGySzc-jiFkbQ2_j93HA80mrF-cRJCWoa-EYlrsXlwiwwAk0ZjXH0P9J2JHXeGTcnCuUf-/s320/vice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Solid</u></b><br />
Ben Is Back<br />
Avengers: Infinity War<br />
Can You Ever Forgive Me?<br />
Christopher Robin<br />
Creed II<br />
Deadpool 2<br />
Eighth Grade<br />
Game Night<br />
Incredibles 2<br />
On The Basis Of Sex<br />
<div>
Sorry To Bother You</div>
<div>
Three Identical Strangers<br />
Vice</div>
<br />
<b><u>Just Fine</u></b><br />
Mary Queen of Scots<br />
Ready Player One<br />
Tag<br />
Throughbreds<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiASq6vpEkB1ALsGWl4u9Qkc3ikgsIoxA3CHL9wN74Kn0Pb_hH3Luog5KHz7fyL14s0pUA1PwhURgzZbuwsko0gFj2QsJl1lEsd4KJT3i9gViQ2fYiBVUlY_7nL9IME4Q6SPBfuPM_VVxv/s1600/juliet-naked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="970" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiASq6vpEkB1ALsGWl4u9Qkc3ikgsIoxA3CHL9wN74Kn0Pb_hH3Luog5KHz7fyL14s0pUA1PwhURgzZbuwsko0gFj2QsJl1lEsd4KJT3i9gViQ2fYiBVUlY_7nL9IME4Q6SPBfuPM_VVxv/s320/juliet-naked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><u>Silly But Fun</u></b><br />
<div>
Ant Man And The Wasp</div>
Blockers<br />
<div>
Juliet, Naked</div>
Life Of The Party<br />
Ocean's 8<br />
<div>
A Wrinkle In Time</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><u>Meh</u></b><br />
Chappaquiddick<br />
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them: The Crimes of Grindelwald<br />
Green Book<br />
Solo: A Star Wars Story<br />
The Wife<br />
<br />
<b><u>Not Good</u></b><br />
Book Club<br />
I Feel Pretty<br />
Overboard<br />
The Spy Who Dumped Me<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZjo24LOi6RAIVm4PBKPWk7OaEVSh896PsaxeAc9TlhgDPcyUY5c6wc_FpAEqHWhP_1lqqRq49xWIVZ1sT6K9lzwLInO6VZcxQouG_yeqr4FsjFnVM8e_RvL849TRDMttv1KCdsOLwMXZ/s1600/bohemian-rhapsody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZjo24LOi6RAIVm4PBKPWk7OaEVSh896PsaxeAc9TlhgDPcyUY5c6wc_FpAEqHWhP_1lqqRq49xWIVZ1sT6K9lzwLInO6VZcxQouG_yeqr4FsjFnVM8e_RvL849TRDMttv1KCdsOLwMXZ/s320/bohemian-rhapsody.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Terrible</u></b><br />
Bohemian Rhapsody<br />
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom<br />
Super Troopers 2Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-45974414138427979592018-01-07T19:49:00.001-05:002018-01-15T14:03:25.452-05:002017 Movies: Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gETeZYyDUPM6OKuvRa2fKWGitfP9xJOy-hIpU7af-Cr-l7MMw-mLou3-3ef22ZRKv4SxYksW58h0blJt2vJFDx4ZIcep2SQAdZbsc-1cTOFa8LLZm1Xb7FpdDZdTGQq-QT8FhMVTilBX/s1600/lady-bird-and-mother-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gETeZYyDUPM6OKuvRa2fKWGitfP9xJOy-hIpU7af-Cr-l7MMw-mLou3-3ef22ZRKv4SxYksW58h0blJt2vJFDx4ZIcep2SQAdZbsc-1cTOFa8LLZm1Xb7FpdDZdTGQq-QT8FhMVTilBX/s320/lady-bird-and-mother-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My birthday weekend has now concluded, therefore my annual list is due to the masses. What a year! Unlike last year there were several movies that I absolutely LOVED. And although my number is way down from last year (45, from 70 😭), I'll blame a bunch of repeat viewings of some of these. For full transparency, I noted which got a repeat viewing in the theater so all my crazy is out there in the open. I am the proud new owner of a Movie Pass card, which I am confident will get my numbers back up in the coming year. What did I miss? What's ranked too high? Too low? Let's hear it.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Perfect</u></b><br />
Call Me By Your Name - 2<br />
Dunkirk - 2<br />
Lady Bird - 2<br />
Logan - 5<br />
<br />
<b><u>Greatness</u></b><br />
The Big Sick - 2<br />
The Disaster Artist - 2<br />
The Florida Project<br />
Get Out - 2<br />
Phantom Thread<br />
Star Wars: Episode V111 The Last Jedi - 3<br />
Thor: Ragnarok<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEBd6fz3j47nypIygiQlAUlTbkSp6GgW8DjFXM1of-Mu7ayrePtYp5-4f83-HnUrMIYOYu3iBEVjbKgkReZmxFfJ2JTj4Z0aGZyHEVih-aLRZ2_V01FK-VGfCISRDngOJRbjPrWBG1Idm/s1600/Loki_Grandmaster1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="640" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEBd6fz3j47nypIygiQlAUlTbkSp6GgW8DjFXM1of-Mu7ayrePtYp5-4f83-HnUrMIYOYu3iBEVjbKgkReZmxFfJ2JTj4Z0aGZyHEVih-aLRZ2_V01FK-VGfCISRDngOJRbjPrWBG1Idm/s320/Loki_Grandmaster1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Very Good</u></b><br />
Baby Driver<br />
Battle of the Sexes<br />
Blade Runner 2049<br />
It<br />
The LEGO Batman Movie<br />
Spiderman: Homecoming<br />
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<br />
Wonder Woman<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqyvJSz2H-gJlgHPDOyNmI-QXju9CjJtu5mWlN93C1pIoEvctel7jTcYkb4P12ZmJp3kdQDUK-Aw6X5j0Tfdocd1BZ-tsqZOS0meWY-nobzDMFZlWv10mb40nHn9CPuZ8fx55TOOruydZ/s1600/ingrid-goes-west1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqyvJSz2H-gJlgHPDOyNmI-QXju9CjJtu5mWlN93C1pIoEvctel7jTcYkb4P12ZmJp3kdQDUK-Aw6X5j0Tfdocd1BZ-tsqZOS0meWY-nobzDMFZlWv10mb40nHn9CPuZ8fx55TOOruydZ/s320/ingrid-goes-west1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Solid</u></b><br />
All The Money In The World<br />
Darkest Hour<br />
The Founder<br />
Girls Trip<br />
Good Time<br />
Ingrid Goes West<br />
I, Tonya<br />
Logan Lucky<br />
Molly’s Game<br />
The Post<br />
The Shape of Water<br />
<br />
<b><u>Just Fine</u></b><br />
Gifted<br />
Personal Shopper<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp9wYi7lURHwszhbmmVwcKREzC6-blQS1kEtPMqHPX85tV8lL1_PfWlAScv-mqsdwYpnctrwiO7M81tEVU-RCPJQBNNovD3sAWOOENqXD82QjO0r_GhqET0u3KE3OAcgFun55Ixmo51tR/s1600/atomic-blonde-film-charlize-theron.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="820" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp9wYi7lURHwszhbmmVwcKREzC6-blQS1kEtPMqHPX85tV8lL1_PfWlAScv-mqsdwYpnctrwiO7M81tEVU-RCPJQBNNovD3sAWOOENqXD82QjO0r_GhqET0u3KE3OAcgFun55Ixmo51tR/s320/atomic-blonde-film-charlize-theron.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Silly But Fun</u></b><br />
Atomic Blonde<br />
The Fate Of The Furious<br />
Kong: Skull Island<br />
<br />
<b><u>Meh</u></b><br />
Beauty And The Beast<br />
The Beguiled<br />
The Greatest Showman<br />
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2<br />
The Meyerowitz Stories<br />
Murder On The Orient Express<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjBKzV-dq1AfhcMsem8ZJWmJPgGYLkueUcmkT1yBYmaMUPjaqH2vJRFYvxn6Sg6aI4lqCg47wBDPLjbc3TshT_qIIxOo1nvq5nekSzhh4dMjCFWG_VDIHxsuijywIeLIaMiV2_WU0Hry1/s1600/murder-on-the-orient-express.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjBKzV-dq1AfhcMsem8ZJWmJPgGYLkueUcmkT1yBYmaMUPjaqH2vJRFYvxn6Sg6aI4lqCg47wBDPLjbc3TshT_qIIxOo1nvq5nekSzhh4dMjCFWG_VDIHxsuijywIeLIaMiV2_WU0Hry1/s320/murder-on-the-orient-express.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Not Good</u></b><br />
Home Again<br />
The House<br />
Justice League<br />
<br />
<b><u>Terrible</u></b><br />
BaywatchLindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-35306423150636033752017-02-25T10:33:00.007-05:002017-02-25T10:33:56.415-05:002017 Oscar Picks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oscLiMr_Agtt3S2Lfb8iY_DijfX4T1gBHkLAWoZzIQXa5LHrKKCQzaqFGcMQawMR4pQX6Fu1Ko2G4zjMpavgMoLoCc7axdCnJSrfVBehrYTcB1gt07VvDIafBwBMPxOxJmmzf54ffCq3/s1600/Oscars-Logo-Letters-Only-620x360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oscLiMr_Agtt3S2Lfb8iY_DijfX4T1gBHkLAWoZzIQXa5LHrKKCQzaqFGcMQawMR4pQX6Fu1Ko2G4zjMpavgMoLoCc7axdCnJSrfVBehrYTcB1gt07VvDIafBwBMPxOxJmmzf54ffCq3/s320/Oscars-Logo-Letters-Only-620x360.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I was looking over <a href="http://on-lollipops-and-crisps.blogspot.com/2016/02/2016-oscar-picks.html" target="_blank">my post</a> from last year, and how many big awards I actually got wrong. I pray for those kind of surprises from this year's show, but alas, I think we're in for show full of the expected. It seems like the major awards are already all decided, so before I join the masses in making those expected picks, I'll offer some predictions for the show itself. I predict lots of politics, hopefully some powerful and inspiring speeches, and annoying Jimmy Kimmel bits (probably with an assist from Matt Damon, if we're being honest). Also, check out my <a href="http://www.delish.com/cooking/g3904/oscar-inspired-food-party-snacks-2017-nominees/" target="_blank">food picks</a> for this year's nominees.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmILUHeRwxs-5s2TyPuSu8X0Ak_ENEJrAfAm89rL8lRc0XvvbUkD2z2PMQ74RXwBtrY-Jz68cjSTYt8cTcnH8C86WRAU6nZCZKhKZJCW60Ga2N93C0jhm9xXleciMVtcFvW-ixkGTwALsG/s1600/moonlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmILUHeRwxs-5s2TyPuSu8X0Ak_ENEJrAfAm89rL8lRc0XvvbUkD2z2PMQ74RXwBtrY-Jz68cjSTYt8cTcnH8C86WRAU6nZCZKhKZJCW60Ga2N93C0jhm9xXleciMVtcFvW-ixkGTwALsG/s320/moonlight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Picture</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<i>Fences</i><br />
<i>Hacksaw Ridge</i><br />
<i>Hell or High Water</i><br />
<i>Hidden Figures</i><br />
<i>La La Land</i><br />
<i>Lion</i><br />
<i>Manchester by the Sea</i><br />
<i>Moonlight</i><br />
<br />
Will Win: <i>La La Land</i><br />
Should Win: <i>Moonlight</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I'm happy to say that I really liked a lot of the movies on this list. Besides <i>Hacksaw Ridge </i>(just nothing special), I would watch them all again (and have seen several of them more than once). <i>Hidden Figures</i> is an incredible story that deserved to be told, and the movie is completely entertaining and more than competently made, but also is traditional almost to a fault. I've seen <i>La La Land</i> four times. I totally fell for all of its charms and have defended it up and down against claims that it's purely superficial fun. It is pure, superficial fun, but the second half makes it something more. As this <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/columns/la-la-land-emma-stone-ryan-gosling-1201950715/" target="_blank">Variety article argues</a>, it denies us the beats of the movie we thought we were watching to deliver something that is more real, and ultimately, heartbreaking. I won't begrudge it winning Best Picture, but if I had a real vote, I'd cast it for <i>Moonlight</i>. It's the movie I've thought about the most since seeing, and the one that left a more powerful impression on me through its combination of story, performances, editing and music.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Director</u></b><br />
Denis Villeneuve, <i>Arrival</i><br />
Mel Gibson, <i>Hacksaw Ridge</i><br />
Damien Chazelle, <i>La La Land</i><br />
Kenneth Lonergan, <i>Manchester by the Sea</i><br />
Barry Jenkins, <i>Moonlight</i><br />
<br />
Will Win: Damien Chazelle, <i>La La Land</i><br />
Should Win: Barry Jenkins, <i>Moonlight</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
This is where I really wish <i>Moonlight</i> could pull out a surprise. Then all would feel right in the world. My two favorite movies would split the two big awards, and Barry Jenkins would get all the recognition that he deserves. Damien Chazelle is clearly a prodigy (the guy is younger than me!) and he did amazing work on <i>La La Land</i>, but Jenkins pulling three incredible performances from three very different actors that actually add up to a cohesive story is nothing short of a miracle.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFZwkgC92IsRdUE9MpefVeo_PvhXNmHOh4YEhBwfZIqUGx8lgU7AD13WQAum5szB7AVLkvqdMeRPYD4BKv34EFgqGVB4czXsXh81R_FNghOwklTox6NvcW7Xl3cLVoePTp3Yauw6UeSGo/s1600/emma-la-la-land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFZwkgC92IsRdUE9MpefVeo_PvhXNmHOh4YEhBwfZIqUGx8lgU7AD13WQAum5szB7AVLkvqdMeRPYD4BKv34EFgqGVB4czXsXh81R_FNghOwklTox6NvcW7Xl3cLVoePTp3Yauw6UeSGo/s320/emma-la-la-land.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Actress</u></b><br />
Isabelle Huppert, <i>Elle</i><br />
Ruth Negga, <i>Loving</i><br />
Natalie Portman, <i>Jackie</i><br />
Emma Stone, <i>La La Land</i><br />
Meryl Streep, <i>Florence Foster Jenkins</i><br />
<br />
Will Win: Emma Stone, <i>La La Land</i><br />
Should Win: Emma Stone, <i>La La Land</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
This used to be a neck-and-neck race between two of my favorite actresses: Natalie Portman and Emma Stone. Somehow, <i>Jackie</i> has faded fast from the conversation, even though Portman is stunning in the title role. In fact, had you asked me a month ago I would have said Portman should win in a landslide. But I get why Emma is poised for the win. <i>La La Land</i>'s success is more tied to Stone's performance than Gosling's. If the movie is a success, it's because of her eyes. Any one moment that made me actually feel is because of her. Natalie has her Oscar, it's Emma's time to shine.<br />
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<i><br /></i>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Best Actor</u></b><br />
Casey Affleck, <i>Manchester by the Sea</i><br />
Andrew Garfield, <i>Hacksaw Ridge</i><br />
Ryan Gosling, <i>La La Land</i><br />
Viggo Mortensen, <i>Captain Fantastic</i><br />
Denzel Washington, <i>Fences</i><br />
<br />
Will Win: Denzel Washington, <i>Fences</i><br />
Should Win: Casey Affleck, <i>Manchester by the Sea</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
This is one of the tightest categories this year, which comes as a bit of surprise. All season Casey Affleck's quiet, intense performance was a virtual lock. Then his past came to <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/11/why-the-casey-affleck-sex-harassment-allegations-wont-stick.html" target="_blank">haunt him</a>. When Denzel won the Screen Actor's Guild Award it became clear that Affleck had lost favor with the largest branch of the Academy. Not that he's not deserving. He's a titanic force in Fences. It's the kind of role that usually wins Oscars, in fact it's not all that different from the role that won him his last Oscar — loud, brash and endlessly actor-y. I won't begrudge him a win, but I still wish Affleck's restrained performance would win the prize. It's the harder job sometimes to tell a story with just a look in the eyes and a grimace. Maybe he'll win an Emmy for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSvNhxKJJyU" target="_blank">this gem</a> as a consolation prize.<br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Supporting Actress</u></b><br />
Viola Davis, <i>Fences</i><br />
Naomie Harris, <i>Moonlight</i><br />
Nicole Kidman, <i>Lion</i><br />
Octavia Spencer, <i>Hidden Figures</i><br />
Michelle Williams, <i>Manchester by the Sea</i><br />
<br />
Will Win: Viola Davis, <i>Fences</i><br />
Should Win: Viola Davis, <i>Fences</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Do I even need to expend energy justifying this pick? I really don't think so. Viola Davis is going to win her (completely deserved) long overdue Oscar. These are facts. Can't wait to hear your speech, Vi!<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Supporting Actor</u></b><br />
Mahershala Ali, <i>Moonlight</i><br />
Jeff Bridges, <i>Hell or High Water</i><br />
Lucas Hedges, <i>Manchester by the Sea</i><br />
Dev Patel, <i>Lion</i><br />
Michael Shannon, <i>Nocturnal Animals</i><br />
<br />
Will Win: Mahershala Ali, <i>Moonlight</i><br />
Should Win: Mahershala Ali, <i>Moonlight</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Possibly my favorite performance in any category this year, Mahershala Ali deserves to win this, and I really believe he will. He's only in the first section of the movie, and yet his presence and influence is felt throughout. The scene where he teaches Little to swim is one of the most beautiful scenes of the year. I'm not alone, here. <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/your-guide-to-having-a-crush-on-moonlights-mahershala-ali.html" target="_blank">Everyone</a> is crushing on him, so Oscar should follow suit.<br />
<br />
And here are my predictions for the rest of the categories:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Animated Feature</u></b><br />
<i>Kubo and the Two Strings</i><br />
<i>Moana</i><br />
<i>My Life as a Zucchini</i><br />
<i>The Red Turtle</i><br />
<b><i>Zootopia</i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u>Best Adapted Screenplay</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<i>Fences</i><br />
<i>Hidden Figures</i><br />
<i>Lion</i><br />
<b><i>Moonlight</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Original Screenplay</u></b><br />
<i>Hell or High Water</i><br />
<i>La La Land</i><br />
<i>The Lobster</i><br />
<b><i>Manchester by the Sea</i></b><br />
<i>20th Century Women</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Cinematography</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<b><i>La La Land</i></b><br />
<i>Lion</i><br />
<i>Moonlight</i><br />
<i>Silence</i><br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Costume Design</u></b><br />
<i>Allied</i><br />
<i>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them</i><br />
<i>Florence Foster Jenkins</i><br />
<b><i>Jackie</i></b><br />
<i>La La Land</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Documentary Feature</u></b><br />
<i>Fire at Sea</i><br />
<i>I Am Not Your Negro</i><br />
<i>Life, Animated</i><br />
<b><i>O.J.: Made in America</i></b><br />
<i>13th</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Film Editing</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<i>Hacksaw Ridge</i><br />
<i>Hell or High Water</i><br />
<i><b>La La Land</b></i><br />
<i>Moonlight</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Foreign Language Film </u></b><br />
<i>Land of Mine</i><br />
<i>A Man Called Ove</i><br />
<b><i>The Salesman</i></b><br />
<i>Tanna</i><br />
<i>Toni Erdmann</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Makeup</u></b><br />
<i>A Man Called Ove</i><br />
<b><i>Star Trek Beyond</i></b><br />
<i>Suicide Squad</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Original Score</u></b><br />
<i>Jackie</i><br />
<b><i>La La Land</i></b><br />
<i>Lion</i><br />
<i>Moonlight</i><br />
<i>Passengers</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Original Song</u></b><br />
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from <i>La La Land</i><br />
"Can’t Stop The Feeling" from <i>Trolls</i><br />
<b>"City Of Stars" from <i>La La Land</i></b><br />
"The Empty Chair" from <i>Jim: The James Foley Story</i><br />
"How Far I’ll Go" from <i>Moana</i><br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Production Design</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<b><i>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them</i></b><br />
<i>Hail, Caesar!</i><br />
<i>La La Land</i><br />
<i>Passengers</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Sound Editing</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<i>Deepwater Horizon</i><br />
<i>Hacksaw Ridge</i><br />
<b><i>La La Land</i></b><br />
<i>Sully</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Sound Mixing</u></b><br />
<i>Arrival</i><br />
<i>Hacksaw Ridge</i><br />
<b><i>La La Land</i></b><br />
<i>Rogue One: A Star Wars Story</i><br />
<i>13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u>Best Visual Effects</u></b><br />
<i>Deepwater Horizon</i><br />
<i>Doctor Strange</i><br />
<b><i>The Jungle Book</i></b><br />
<i>Kubo and the Two Strings</i><br />
<i>Rogue One: A Star Wars Story</i>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-57498361993543235442017-01-06T15:04:00.001-05:002017-01-08T21:12:42.649-05:002016 Movies: Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH7JKzHZ84Q6k-fymxNwKMVfWJ6SmZUC89drS0W8nCatkmFco22-XmZZGivtbpVG1AfR_loWP3LT85pn75EAIBSi2n9RigbnIICAqVzA2aa1dxSjLixem0hVUzVlUmBMom93mt4iw9dUG/s1600/lala-land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH7JKzHZ84Q6k-fymxNwKMVfWJ6SmZUC89drS0W8nCatkmFco22-XmZZGivtbpVG1AfR_loWP3LT85pn75EAIBSi2n9RigbnIICAqVzA2aa1dxSjLixem0hVUzVlUmBMom93mt4iw9dUG/s320/lala-land.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Once again, I'm here using my birthday as the cutoff for the annual list of movies I saw in the past year. As garbage as 2016 felt to most of us, there were plenty of cinematic distractions to get us through it. This rundown includes all the 2016 releases that I saw, both in the theater and at home. I beat last year's total of 62 by 8 for a total of 70. Looking at the list, I'll attribute that to a weird run in the late fall where I went back and watched a bunch of terrible movies that I had skipped in the theater. So while I'm proud of myself that I killed last year's number, the quality of the movies that contributed to that number, as you can see, is definitely wanting. What did I miss? What am I ranking too high or too low? Let me have it.</span><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Perfect</u><br />
N/A - 😕<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Greatness</u><br />
20th Century Women<br />
The Biggest Splash<br />
Captain Fantastic<br />
Deadpool<br />
Everybody Wants Some!<br />
Fences<br />
Hell of High Water<br />
Jackie<br />
La La Land<br />
Lion<br />
The Lobster<br />
Manchester By The Sea<br />
Moonlight<br />
The Nice Guys<br />
<br />
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<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Very Good</u><br />
Arrival<br />
The Edge of Seventeen<br />
Hail, Caesar!<br />
Midnight Special<br />
A Monster Calls<br />
Nocturnal Animals<br />
Other People<br />
Popstar: Never Stop Stopping<br />
Southside With You<br />
Sing Street<br />
War Dogs<br />
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<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Solid</u><br />
Cafe Society<br />
Captain America: Civil War<br />
Don't Think Twice<br />
Equals<br />
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them<br />
Finding Dory<br />
Hello, My Name Is Doris<br />
Hidden Figures<br />
The Light Between The Oceans<br />
Loving<br />
The Magnificent Seven<br />
Me Before You<br />
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children<br />
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story<br />
Sully<br />
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Zootopia<br />
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<br />
<u>Just Fine</u><br />
Allied<br />
The Birth of a Nation<br />
Florence Foster Jenkins<br />
Ghostbusters<br />
The Secret Life of Pets<br />
Star Trek Beyond<br />
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot<br />
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<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Silly But Fun</u><br />
Bridget Jones Baby<br />
Doctor Strange<br />
The Jungle Book<br />
Keanu<br />
Swiss Army Man<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Meh</u><br />
The Girl On The Train<br />
How To Be Single<br />
Jason Bourne<br />
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<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Not Good</u><br />
Bad Moms<br />
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2<br />
The Boss<br />
Central Intelligence<br />
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates<br />
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising<br />
Now You See Me 2<br />
Passengers<br />
X-Men: Apocalypse<br />
<br />
<u>Terrible</u><br />
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice<br />
Independence Day: Resurgence<br />
Sausage Party<br />
Suicide Squad<br />
Zoolander 2Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-80056346423527513872016-02-28T11:24:00.002-05:002016-02-28T11:24:19.053-05:002016 Oscar Picks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><u><br /></u></b>
In a year where The Oscars seem more irrelevant then ever #oscarssowhite, it's interesting that this is a field where I have absolutely no confidence in my Best Picture pick. It's as if the controversy has been so distracting that no one is really all that passionate about the nominees we were left with. But as they say, the show must go on, so let's see if I can keep up my three year streak of nearly perfect ballots. (I really doubt it). Also, please enjoy the <a href="http://www.delish.com/cooking/g3277/oscar-night-food-2016/" target="_blank">gallery</a> I put together at work to find out what to eat to match all the nominees.<br />
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<b><u>Best Picture</u></b><br />
<i>The Big Short</i><br />
<i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
<i>Brooklyn</i><br />
<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i><br />
<i>The Martian</i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<i>Room</i><br />
<i>Spotlight</i><br />
<br />
<b>Will Win:</b> <i>The Revenant</i><br />
<b>Should Win:</b> <i>Spotlight</i><br />
<br />
My actual favorite movie of the year has been regulated to the animated feature category, leaving several of my other top picks to choose from. However, this category is really anyone's to win this year—anyone if you're <i>The Revenant</i>, <i>Spotlight</i> or <i>The Big Short</i>. Those three have split the major guild awards, and while Spotlight won the best picture equivalent from the actor's (the Academy's largest voting branch), I have a sinking feeling that <i>The Revenant</i> is surging at the right moment. Love for Leo and its director will probably lead to its victory. It's not the Best Picture I want, but apparently it's the Best Picture we deserve. <br />
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<br />
<b><u>Best Director</u></b><br />
Tom McCarthy, <i>Spotlight</i><br />
George Miller, <i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i><br />
Adam McKay, <i>The Big Short</i><br />
Lenny Abrahamson, <i>Room</i><br />
Alejandro González Iñárritu, <i>The Revenant</i><br />
<br />
<b>Will Win:</b> Alejandro González Iñárritu, <i>The Revenant</i><br />
<b>Should Win:</b> George Miller, <i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i><br />
<br />
It seems Best Director this year really just means MOST directing. George Miller and Alejandro González Iñárritu physically toiled to being their stories to the screen. Then you have Tom McCarthy and Adam McKay—these men made movies about MORTGAGES and RESEARCH actually compelling and exciting to watch. I could make a case for all of them to win, but I think <i>The Revenant</i>'s momentum and his DGA win spell a repeat award for Iñárritu. Though, my vote would go to the 70 year-old Miller who directed <i>Mad Max</i> with the energy and gumption of a man half his age.<br />
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<br />
<u><b>Best Actor</b></u><br />
Eddie Redmayne, <i>The Danish Girl</i><br />
Matt Damon, <i>The Martian</i><br />
Leonardo DiCaprio, <i>The Revenant</i><br />
Michael Fassbender, <i>Steve Jobs</i><br />
Bryan Cranston, <i>Trumbo</i><br />
<br />
<b>Will Win:</b> Leonardo DiCaprio, <i>The Revenant</i><br />
<b>Should Win:</b> Leonardo DiCaprio, <i>The Revenant</i><br />
<br />
Leo, Leo, Leo .. I've already <a href="http://www.delish.com/cooking/a46161/binge-watch-binge-eat-wolf-wall-street-candy/" target="_blank">waxed on</a> and on about your virtues once this week, but here we are. I thought you deserved your Oscar for <i>The Aviator</i>. I wouldn't have begrudged a win for <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i>. But I can't fathom how you will lose with your performance in <i>The Revenant</i>. I've read the case against you: We shouldn't only be rewarding hardship during filming, you barely say a word, Tom Hardy has the tougher role to play, etc. Against these other actors, none of those arguments matter. You frightened me, enthralled me and devastated me in equal measure. It's your year Leo. Enjoy your award, at last.<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Best Actress</u></b><br />
Saoirse Ronan, <i>Brooklyn</i><br />
Cate Blanchett, <i>Carol</i><br />
Jennifer Lawrence, <i>Joy</i><br />
Brie Larson, <i>Room</i><br />
Charlotte Rampling, <i>45 Years</i><br />
<br />
<b>Will Win:</b> Brie Larson, <i>Room</i><br />
<b>Should Win:</b> Brie Larson, <i>Room</i><br />
<br />
Brie Larson has been the front-runner all season long, and for good reason. I've loved her since <i>The Spectacular Now</i>, and couldn't be happier for her continued success. Her performance in <i>Room</i> is powerful and without a peer this year. It hers and she deserves it.<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Best Supporting Actor</u></b><br />
Christian Bale, <i>The Big Short</i><br />
Mark Rylance, <i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
Sylvester Stallone, <i>Creed</i><br />
Mark Ruffalo, <i>Spotlight</i><br />
Tom Hardy, <i>The Revenant</i><br />
<br />
<b>Will Win:</b> Sylvester Stallone, <i>Creed</i><br />
<b>Should Win:</b> Sylvester Stallone, <i>Creed</i><br />
<br />
I was about to make an argument that Christian Bale and Tom Hardy both have a better claim to this award than Sly. Then I remembered his big scene in Creed and teared up. No memory of Bale or Hardy's performance can do that. Sly FTW!<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Best Supporting Actress</u></b><br />
Rooney Mara, <i>Carol</i><br />
Alicia Vikander, <i>The Danish Girl</i><br />
Jennifer Jason Leigh, <i>The Hateful Eight</i><br />
Kate Winslet, <i>Steve Jobs</i><br />
Rachel McAdams, <i>Spotlight</i><br />
<br />
<b>Will Win:</b> Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl<br />
<b>Should Win:</b> Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs<br />
<br />
This is a tough one. Alicia Vikander has had a remarkable year. She's was incredible in no less than three films—<i>Ex Machina</i> (my favorite), <i>The Danish Girl</i> and <i>The Man From U.N.C.L.E</i>. Plus, she looks completely different in all of them, helping to create mystique about her. Her performance in <i>The Danish Girl</i> is absolutely beautiful. But then there's Kate Winslet, an actress I've loved for 20+ years, playing a role that renders her unrecognizable. So what is the great feat? I predict the Academy will go for the lady who is shiny and new to them, but I can't help but wish Winslet was taking home the gold, especially since I felt <i>Steve Jobs</i> was unfairly pushed out of the Oscar race by a fickle public.<br />
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And now, some quick picks for the remaining categories:<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Original Screenplay</u></b><br />
<i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
<i>Ex Machina</i><br />
<i>Inside Out</i><br />
<i><b>Spotlight</b></i><br />
<i>Straight Outta Compton</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Adapted Screenplay</u></b><br />
<i><b>The Big Short</b></i><br />
<i>Brooklyn</i><br />
<i>Carol</i><br />
<i>The Martian</i><br />
<i>Room</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Animated Feature</u></b><br />
<i>Anomalisa</i><br />
<i>Boy & The World</i><br />
<b><i>Inside Out</i></b><br />
<i>Shaun the Sheep: The Movie</i><br />
<i>When Marnie Was There</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Foreign Language Film</u></b><br />
<i>A War</i><br />
<i>Embrace of the Serpent</i><br />
<i>Mustang</i><br />
<b><i>Son of Saul</i></b><br />
<i>Theeb</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-vcKsIIDGPnpmanBI4XGt9PmNy-kAkKTsCgO-cP6cD0NriVzGnNv_KprCSLg30C89TG8tXKI8xWZ7M-cCgGjllEvc4PzOzWNTnE1Udf4XRNPd18COT3_OpgHdmI3vZGAg4QjcaizE0Z8/s1600/hateful-eight.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-vcKsIIDGPnpmanBI4XGt9PmNy-kAkKTsCgO-cP6cD0NriVzGnNv_KprCSLg30C89TG8tXKI8xWZ7M-cCgGjllEvc4PzOzWNTnE1Udf4XRNPd18COT3_OpgHdmI3vZGAg4QjcaizE0Z8/s320/hateful-eight.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Original Score</u></b><br />
<i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
<i>Carol</i><br />
<b><i>The Hateful Eight</i></b><br />
<i>Sicario</i><br />
<i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Original Song</u></b><br />
“Earned It,” <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i><br />
“Manta Ray,” <i>Racing Extinction</i><br />
“Simple Song #3,” <i>Youth</i><br />
<b>“Til It Happens To You,” <i>The Hunting Ground</i></b><br />
“Writing’s On The Wall,” <i>Spectre</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Cinematography</u></b><br />
<i>Carol</i><br />
<i>The Hateful Eight</i><br />
<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i><br />
<b><i>The Revenant</i></b><br />
<i>Sicario</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Visual Effects</u></b><br />
<i>Ex Machina</i><br />
<i><b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b></i><br />
<i>The Martian</i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Documentary Feature</u></b><br />
<i><b>Amy</b></i><br />
<i>Cartel Land</i><br />
<i>The Look of Silence</i><br />
<i>What Happened, Miss Simone?</i><br />
<i>Winter of Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Production Design</u></b><br />
<i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
<i>The Danish Girl</i><br />
<i><b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b></i><br />
<i>The Martian</i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Film Editing</u></b><br />
<i>The Big Short</i><br />
<i><b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b></i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<i>Spotlight</i><br />
<i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Makeup & Hairstyling</u></b><br />
<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i><br />
<i>The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out</i><br />
<i>The Window and Disappeared</i><br />
<i><b>The Revenant</b></i><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Best Costume Design</u></b><br />
<i>Carol</i><br />
<i>Cinderella</i><br />
<i>The Danish Girl</i><br />
<i><b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b></i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Sound Editing</u></b><br />
<i><b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b></i><br />
<i>The Martian</i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<i>Sicario</i><br />
<i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
<br />
<b><u>Best Sound Mixing</u></b><br />
<i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
<i><b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b></i><br />
<i>The Martian</i><br />
<i>The Revenant</i><br />
<i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Animated Short</u></b><br />
<i>Bear Story</i><br />
<i>Prologue</i><br />
<i>Sanjay’s Super Team</i><br />
<i>We Can’t Live without Cosmos</i><br />
<i><b>World of Tomorrow</b></i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Live Action Short</u></b><br />
<i>Ave Maria</i><br />
<i>Day One</i><br />
<i>Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)</i><br />
<i>Shok</i><br />
<i><b>Stutterer</b></i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Documentary Short</u></b><br />
<i>Body Team 12</i><br />
<i>Chau, Beyond the Lines</i><br />
<i><b>Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah</b></i><br />
<i>A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness</i><br />
<i>Last Day of Freedom</i>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-46215705029510948472016-01-10T19:15:00.000-05:002016-01-10T22:39:39.575-05:002015 Movies: Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My birthday is the cutoff for 2015 movies, therefore the time has come to reveal my annual movie rundown. This rundown includes all the 2015 releases that I saw, both in the theater and at home. I beat last year's total of 60 by two, which is a personal best for me. So this + a new job—2015 wasn't so bad after all.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Perfect</u></b><br />
Inside Out<br />
<br />
<b><u>Greatness</u></b><br />
Amy<br />
The Big Short<br />
Creed<br />
Ex Machina<br />
The Martian<br />
Mad Max: Fury Road<br />
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl<br />
Room<br />
Spotlight<br />
Star Wars: The Force Awakens<br />
<div>
Sicario<br />
Steve Jobs</div>
Straight Outta Compton<br />
<br />
<b><u>Very Good</u></b><br />
Black Mass<br />
Clouds of Sils Maria<br />
The Danish Girl<br />
The End of the Tour<br />
He Named Me Malala<br />
Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation<br />
The Revenant<br />
<div>
Sleeping With Other People</div>
Spy<br />
What We Do In The Shadows<br />
<br />
<b><u>Solid</u></b><br />
Brooklyn<br />
Carol<br />
The Diary of a Teenage Girl<br />
Love & Mercy<br />
The Overnight<br />
<br />
<div>
<b><u>Just Fine</u></b><br />
<div>
Bridge of Spies</div>
<div>
Everest<br />
The Hateful Eight<br />
The Last Five Years<br />
Spectre</div>
<div>
Trainwreck<br />
Trumbo</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><u>Silly But Fun</u></b></div>
Ant-Man<br />
Cinderella<br />
The Intern<br />
Jurassic World<br />
Kingman: The Secret Service<br />
Magic Mike XXL<br />
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.<br />
Sisters<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><u>Meh</u></b><br />
Avengers: Age of Ultron<br />
Before We Go<br />
The Hunger Games: Mockingly - Part 2<br />
Mistress America<br />
Joy<br />
A Walk in the Woods<br />
While We’re Young<br />
The Wolfpack<br />
<br />
<u><b>Not Good</b></u><br />
The Age of Adeline<br />
American Ultra<br />
Crimson Peak<br />
Danny Collins<br />
The Divergent Series - Insurgent<br />
Fifty Shades of Grey<br />
Pitch Perfect 2<br />
<br />
<b><u>Terrible</u></b><br />
The Longest Ride<br />
Ricky and the Flash<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><u>Just Too Upsetting</u></b><br />
Beasts of No NationLindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-15034320152131637652015-12-29T22:49:00.000-05:002015-12-29T23:23:50.335-05:002015 Movies: Trailers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT36XVaElWa1WWlv8HYx7-lJNTFqBqYly0Yyg6sRsufsVM-UQH6ztirIleCYlF1h1v_bjbGPP34KNvUd_kOfcMM6D268D7g67aaIEZAR7FQmXI1kD3BnP2PfnmToSKhZTTVIEL_6SIcBBa/s1600/Hail-Caesar-trailer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT36XVaElWa1WWlv8HYx7-lJNTFqBqYly0Yyg6sRsufsVM-UQH6ztirIleCYlF1h1v_bjbGPP34KNvUd_kOfcMM6D268D7g67aaIEZAR7FQmXI1kD3BnP2PfnmToSKhZTTVIEL_6SIcBBa/s400/Hail-Caesar-trailer.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Wow, this year was a particularly bad showing for the blog, but alas, here I am, attempting to right this wrong with my end-of-the-year roundups. I'll start off easy with trailers, as I still have a fair few movies to see before I call it for the year. And so we begin ...<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Trailer</u></b><br />
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens<br />
<br />
Funny to look back at <a href="http://on-lollipops-and-crisps.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-movies-trailers.html" target="_blank">last year's post</a> and see I just had the teaser under Nerd Alert. What a difference a year makes. After that teaser, we had "Chewie, we're home" to recover from, and then came this. The official full trailer that officially made me revert to my fan girl core. This is the girl who saw Titanic an ungodly amount of times. Some of you may remember her, she is insane. She had been dormant since the end of Harry Potter. I wasn't certain anything could get her to come out full force (pun, definitely intended) again. But then this trailer hit, and I burst into tears. I love how the first shot makes you jump in your seat. I've been in theaters when this trailer played and people actually gasped with excitement at that first look at Rey scavenging through debris. Then it moves confidently from scene to scene, giving us glimpses of both old friends (Han, Darth Vader mask) and new (the great Oscar Issac/John Boyega bro down by an X-Wing). But it's really the music that tugs at the heart strings and the tear ducts. I especially love the moment the traditional music takes a turn around the shot of Rey firing her blaster that just gives you a hint that it's not all business as usual. This trailer didn't just awaken the force, it brought back the crazy, movie-obsessive within.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Also, never forget:<br />
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="6" style="background: #FFF; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: -webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width: 99.375%; width: calc(100% - 2px);">
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<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 62.5% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;">
<div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;">
</div>
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<div style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/9DN_LbsCtp/" style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">THE TRAILER IS JUST EEEEPPPPPPPIIIIICCCCCCC! Star Wars is back! gaaaaaad laaaaard! You know what! Let me just relax because this kind God oooo! Lmao! Seriously congrats to everyone ! December 18th!</a></div>
<div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">
A video posted by @john_boyega on <time datetime="2015-10-20T07:02:00+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Oct 20, 2015 at 12:02am PDT</time></div>
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</blockquote>
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Most Intense</u></b><br />
The Revenant<br />
<br />
This one starts strong with the drums and by the time you see director Alejandro González Iñárritu's name, the echoes of Birdman's trailer mean you are in good hands. Then a bear is savagely attacking (NOT RAPING) Leo while bathed in oddly beautiful natural light and you are transfixed. By the time the rhythmic sound of exhaling takes over, you can't take your eyes off the images that are flashing before you. The trailer makes it clear that this is not going to be a pleasant movie-going experience. But if you're anything like me, you can't wait.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Most Comprehensive</u></b><br />
Steve Jobs<br />
<br />
I will never understand how this movie came and went so quickly. I remember watching this trailer and thinking the following things (in order):<br />
<br />
1. Michael Fassbender looks nothing like Steve Jobs.<br />
2. Nice of someone to throw Seth Rogen a Jonah Hill prestige picture-style bone.<br />
3. Great orchestral music cue/quote mash up.<br />
4. Man, Steve Jobs was an asshole.<br />
5. OH MY GOD, IS THAT KATE WINSLET?!<br />
6. Whoa! Long-haired Fassbender is attractive.<br />
7. Ooooh, a slow clap montage, I'm getting into this.<br />
8. Oh man, round-glasses, short-haired Fassbender is convincing me.<br />
9. Will a Sorkin walk-and-talk ever fail to excite?<br />
10. I'm sold. Opening weekend sold. Where were the rest of you?!<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Hasn't Gotten Old Yet</u></b><br />
Hail, Caesar!<br />
<br />
Doesn't it seems like this movie should be out by now? But maybe it's just my love for the trailer making me impatient for the Coen brothers latest. That opening song is awesome; the parade of stars (Clooney! Scarjo! Tatum! Voldemort!) that goes along with it is too, but my favorite moment is an odd little cut toward the end of the trailer when Tilda Swinton's gossip columnist yells, "20 million readers want the truth Eddie! Eddie!" The cut after that second Eddie makes me so weirdly happy, and I can't explain why. It just feels very Cohen brothers, I guess, and I can't think of a higher compliment.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Obligatory Superhero Trailer</u></b><br />
Suicide Squad<br />
<br />
Taking a cue from last year's <i>Age of Ultron</i> trailer, this preview has the year's best use of a creepy version of a classic song. I liked how the trailer didn't give Will Smith all the airtime, and instead chose to go all in on Margot Robbie. But smart people knew this was just a diversion technique until Jared Leto's Joker shows up at the end. I was waiting for him the entire trailer, and I wasn't disappointed. I still have reservations that the movie won't be able to deliver, but for now, this is a tentatively good start.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Best OMG Moment</u></b><br />
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation<br />
<br />
Man, these movies are very underrated. After seeing this trailer, I was inspired to go back and re-watch all of them and with the exception of Jon Woo, Woo-ing all over MI:2, this franchise has always been so fun to watch. The latest installment is no exception, and it sealed the deal first with the great combination of The Fugees and then the classic Mission Impossible theme music, and then finally, with the great Ethan Hunt airplane hold-on-for-dear-life stunt that closes the trailer, but smartly, opens the movie. Proving once again, that Tom Cruise will go to any length to entertain you. Are you not entertained?<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>Most Sexy/Fun</u></b><br />
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.<br />
<br />
Heavy on the wink-wink charm of old James Bond movies, Guy Ritchie's take on the swinging 60s was actually a lot of fun, which I think, despite Armie Hammer's ridiculous Russian accent, comes across well in this trailer. The funky music, beautiful costumes are all well and good, but it's the welcome sight of Alicia Vikander continuing her stellar year, Superman actually showing some personality and OH MY GOD IS THAT HUGH GRANT?! that makes this trailer a winner for me. Plus, the classic quick cuts of a Guy Ritchie movie make a gal wistful for the days when movies like Snatch were huge hits. This deserved more attention, in my humble opinion.<br />
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<br />Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-30849239514662362302015-02-20T17:37:00.000-05:002015-02-20T18:02:27.785-05:002015 Oscar Picks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/oscars-2015-nominations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/oscars-2015-nominations.jpg" height="165" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year I only missed two categories. TWO. Those damn shorts get me every time. I don't have near the confidence I did last year in this year's picks, but take them for what you will.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Best Picture</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'American Sniper'<br />'Birdman'<br />'Boyhood'<br />'The Grand Budapest Hotel'<br />'The Imitation Game'<br />'Selma'<br />'The Theory of Everything'<br />'Whiplash'<br /><br />This is really a two-horse race at this point, and I would really be happy either way. This was 'Boyhood's' statue to win until 'Birdman' pulled off Triple Crown from the PGA, SAG and DGA. That feat should spell a victory if precedence is to be observed. But I just have a feeling that the Academy's older demographic will be as enchanted by 'Boyhood,' as I was. While I love 'Birdman,' it doesn't evoke all the feelings like 'Boyhood' does, and I think those feelings will put it over the top. This year should be fun though, I have really no confidence in this pick. Finally, a little actual drama that should make all four hours of the show worth watching.</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Will Win:</b> 'Boyhood'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Should
Win: </b>'Boyhood' or 'Birdman' -- I won't pick<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Overlooked:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>'Gone Girl'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><u>Best Director</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wes Anderson,
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alejandro
G. Iñárritu, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richard
Linklater, 'Boyhood'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bennett
Miller, 'Foxcatcher'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Morten
Tyldum, 'The Imitation Game'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
HOW did Bennett Miller sneak into this category?
People, 'Foxcatcher' was way too long and slow. There were two WAY more
deserving directors that should be in his place: 'Whiplash's' Damien Chazelle
and, the more egregiously snubbed, Ava DuVernay for 'Selma.' But let us not
dwell on snubs — this is where I predict a Best Picture/Director split, which has been more common as recently as last year with '12
Years a Slave' splitting with 'Gravity.' As much as it pains me to admit, the
gonzo ambition, craft, patience and creativity of Alejandro Iñárritu
deserves a win over Linklater's equally impressive and ambitious, but decidedly
non-showy, work in 'Boyhood.' <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>
Will Win:</b> Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Should
Win: </b>Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Overlooked:
</b>Ava DuVernay, 'Selma'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><u>Best Actress</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marion
Cotillard, 'Two Days, One Night'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Felicity
Jones, 'The Theory of Everything'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julianne
Moore, 'Still Alice'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rosamund
Pike, 'Gone Girl'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reese
Witherspoon, 'Wild'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
category has been locked up for months, sometimes it feels like years. Julianne
Moore will no longer be just an Academy Award-nominated actress in movie
trailers. However, I can’t help for but mourn for Rosamund Pike. She gave my
favorite performance by an actress this year and I fear she won’t get a chance to play such a
wonderfully wackadoo character ever again. Probably because those characters
are so few and far between. But congratulations Julianne. Your performance (and
movie) devastated me so much I audibly thanked god when credits started rolling. Everything you want in an Oscar winner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>
Will Win:</b> Julianne Moore, 'Still Alice'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Should
Win:</b> Rosamund Pike, 'Gone Girl'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Overlooked:</b>
Jenny Slate, 'Obvious Child'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br />
Best Actor</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steve
Carell, 'Foxcatcher'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bradley
Cooper, 'American Sniper'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Benedict Cumberbatch,
'The Imitation Game'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michael
Keaton, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eddie
Redmayne, 'The Theory of Everything'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now
here's some more of that Oscar night drama. I have gone back and forth with
this category for days and still am not confident about what will happen — except to say that I'm almost certain this comes down to Michael Keaton versus
Eddie Redmayne, both of which are excellent choices. Bradley Cooper is a quiet
dark horse, and I'll join the bandwagon in saying that David Oyelowo was flat out
robbed of a nomination. However, even if he was in this mix, I don't think he could
overcome Keaton and Redmayne. Most of what I've read seems to be coalescing
around Redmayne, and with good reason. Yes, his physical transformation is
astonishing, but it's really that twinkle in his eye that pushes his Stephen Hawking over the edge into greatness. But then there's Keaton. The movies have
missed him and to get him back in such rarefied form is a gift we should not
ignore. Redmayne won the SAG, which is supposed to count for a lot, but with 'Birdman' surging in the Best Picture and Director categories, will the rest of
the non-actor Academy give him enough votes to pull out a victory? I really
don't know, but I'm giving him the shot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>
Will Win</b>: Michael Keaton, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Should
Win:</b> Michael Keaton, 'Birdman' or Eddie Redmayne, 'The Theory of Everything'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Overlooked:</b>
Jake Gyllenhall 'Nightcrawler'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><u>Best Supporting Actress</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patricia
Arquette, 'Boyhood'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laura
Dern, 'Wild'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keira
Knightley, 'The Imitation Game'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma
Stone, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meryl
Streep, 'Into the Woods'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patricia
Arquette, here is your Oscar. The scene where Mason leaves the nest should be your Oscar clip. Please don't read your speech off a piece of
paper. Enjoy CSI: Cyber!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>
Will Win:</b> Patricia Arquette, 'Boyhood'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Should
Win:</b> Patricia Arquette, 'Boyhood'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Overlooked:</b>
Jessica Chastain, 'A Most Violent Year'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><u>Best Supporting Actor</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robert
Duvall, 'The Judge'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ethan
Hawke, 'Boyhood'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Edward
Norton, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark
Ruffalo, 'Foxcatcher'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J.K.
Simmons, 'Whiplash'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another
race that's been over for more than a year now, J.K. Simmons will be crowned
Oscar winner for his terrifying, drill-sergeant-like performance in 'Whiplash.' I
won't quibble, the man is wonderful in the role; but I can't help but wish
Edward Norton was getting more love for his incredibly hilarious and real
performance in 'Birdman.' It takes guts to play a parody of the public's perception
of yourself, and he does so beautifully and with such gumption, I'd cheer if he
pulled an upset. Also, I must give props to my man Ethan Hawke. Another year,
and this could have been yours. I'll cross my fingers he gets the kudos you
deserve for the next "Before" movie instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>
Will Win:</b> J.K. Simmons, 'Whiplash'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Should
Win:</b> Edward Norton, 'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Overlooked:</b> <span style="color: #111111;">Tom
Wilkinson, '</span>Selma'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><u><span style="background: white;">Other Category Predictions</span></u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Best
Original Screenplay: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Best
Adapted Screenplay: 'Whiplash'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Animated
Feature: 'Big Hero 6'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Foreign
Language Film: 'Ida'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Production
Design: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Makeup:
'The Grand Budapest Hotel'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sound
Editing: 'American Sniper'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sound
Mixing: 'Whiplash'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visual
Effects: 'Interstellar'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cinematography:
'Birdman'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">Documentary
Feature: </span>'Citizenfour'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">Documentary
Short Subject:<i> '</i></span>Crisis Hotline'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Film
Editing: 'Whiplash'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Short
Film, Animated: 'Feast'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Short
Film, Live Action: 'The Phone Call'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Costume
Design: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Original
Score: 'The Theory of Everything'</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Original
Song: "Glory'" (But if "Everything is Awesome" wins, it will be ... you know)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-67705574804001130472015-01-14T18:04:00.000-05:002015-02-08T22:26:11.744-05:002014 Movies: Top 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is unforgivably late, but this year I found it very hard to nail down a top 10. So I gave up and went with top nine. Deal with it.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/dadehayes/files/2014/10/boyhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/dadehayes/files/2014/10/boyhood.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">Boyhood</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Clearly, I have a thing for Richard Linklater
(see my obsession with his Before series, including last year's No. 1 pick).
His style of free-flowing dialogue, unobtrusive camerawork and
long takes consistently makes me swoon. With Boyhood, he has given us all
that we love him for, along with an experience that chronicles what it's really
like to grow up. Life doesn't have some grand dramatic structure — it's a
collection of moments. The gimmick is Linklater checks in with his characters over
a 12 year period, showing moments both big (Mason's last day with his mom) and
small (Mason and his friends looking at a lingerie catalog). But Boyhood is
really more than just its moments. It's not until the end when what you've
watched washes over you in a wave of nostalgia — for Mason's childhood, for his
parents' journey, for your own life, for your own parents, for your kids or for
the kids you hope to have one day. We've seen enough conventional
coming-of-age stories that this one feels incredibly fresh. Time is
something we all must reckon with, and with this movie, Linklater demands us to
do so in glorious heartstring-pulling fashion. </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_xlarge_l/v1391560709/the-lego-movie-batman-wyldstyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_xlarge_l/v1391560709/the-lego-movie-batman-wyldstyle.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>The LEGO Movie</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">I wrote earlier this year about the blessing and
curse of expectations and The LEGO Movie is a great example of how expectations
are tricky business. There is no way ANYONE thought a movie that
was ostensibly green-lit to sell more LEGOs could be this funny, fun,
thoughtful and actually beautiful. I haven't experienced pure joy with in
a move theater since Fantastic Mr. Fox. The jokes and pop culture references
come fast and furious and make me so happy I think I'll just go put it on right
now.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Birdman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Birdman.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Birdman</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kinetic from the first shot through all 119
minutes, Birdman makes me excited for the future of film. As Riggan Thomson,
Michael Keaton brings a palpable desperation — to be great and to regain the
fame he lost —that makes you both root for and pity him. Beyond the meta level
greatness of its premise, the movie is wonderfully funny and bruising as a
satire and critique of the curse of celebrity and how it clashes with actors’
desire to do “meaningful” work. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.madeinalabama.com/assets/2015/01/Selma-Film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.madeinalabama.com/assets/2015/01/Selma-Film.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Selma</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What
makes Selma truly great isn’t the grand oratory (which isn’t even verbatim MLK,
Jr.) or its relevancy with current events or even just the fact that it’s based
on landmark battle of the civil rights movement: It’s a story about a man. It
shows how that man shouldered the immense responsibility of a whole movement, how
it affected his wife and family, and ultimately wrestles with if it was worth it.
Despite any cries of inaccuracy, if you don’t well up when MLK, Jr. finally
stands up to start the march, you are officially dead inside.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/u5PqwnUTll0/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/u5PqwnUTll0/maxresdefault.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Whiplash</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">What is Whiplash trying to teach us about how
artists become great? If we buy into J.K. Simmons' character's philosophy,
verbal and physical abuse would be rewarded. But I don't think the
film is actually celebrating his approach. Miles Teller, as jazz drummer Andrew,
however, is buying it. Their abusive duet culminates in one of my favorite
scenes of the year when Andrew, almost defeated by Fletcher again, turns the
tables on his old teacher and shows him what he’s made of. I left the theater
exhausted, but ultimately, absolutely elated by what I had just witnessed.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://150597036.r.cdn77.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/GONE-GIRL-Movie-HD-Trailer-Captures00004_1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://150597036.r.cdn77.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/GONE-GIRL-Movie-HD-Trailer-Captures00004_1_1.jpg" height="136" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Gone Girl</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Based on Gillian Flynn's best-selling book, I
was wary that the book could be made into a movie period, let alone one that
works this well. I have some nitpicks — I think the movie lets Nick off way easier
than he is in the books — but it's changes like that are understandable and
didn't color my enjoyment of the movie. Rosamund Pike is phenomenal as the
truly repugnant Amy. The way she switches it on and off at the end of the movie
makes you want to shiver and then applaud. Ben Affleck uses his natural smarm
to play a guy who we're not sure if we should be rooting for. And with David
Fincher at the helm, the movie gives us a darkly funny, twisty ride that asks
loaded questions about how much we can ever really know about the people we
"love."</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/5519733/guardians-galaxy-walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/5519733/guardians-galaxy-walking.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Guardians<span style="color: black;"> of the Galaxy</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Here's another movie where pure fun is validated
on this list. What should have been the movie to unravel Marvel's infinite
grasp on our wallets, ended up being the most fun I've ever had watching a
comic book movie. The film focuses on creating a world of characters that don't
adhere to franchise-building norms. It turned Chris Pratt in an official
American treasure, which giving thrice Oscar-nominee Bradley Cooper the chance
to actually have some fun. Plus, it has a killer soundtrack that is fueled by
story. I could do without Lee Pace as the super-boring villain, but the
rest of the film moves by so fast and funny, I was willing to forgive the universe
building the movie was clearly selling. And don't forget, dancing baby Groot!</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/under-the-skin-2014/hero_UnderTheSkin-2014-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/under-the-skin-2014/hero_UnderTheSkin-2014-1.jpg" height="133" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Under the Skin</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">An incredibly appropriate title, once Under Skin nestles
in your head, you can't ever forget it. Scarlett Johansson plays an unearthly
beauty who lures unsuspecting Scottish rogues to their doom. As our femme
fatale starts to realize some important truths about humanity, she starts to
unravel and show her vulnerability. Quiet, beautifully shot and just
wonderfully weird, it's hard to spell out exactly what's going on here, but the
feelings — about beauty's power, it inspires are the real deal. </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/obvious-child-wide.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/obvious-child-wide.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Obvious Child</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">When culture think pieces mourn the death of the
rom-com, Obvious Child should be the smart comedy-lover's retort. Jenny Slate's
Donna is a Brooklyn comedian/bookstore clerk who, while recovering from a
break-up, has a one-night stand with a normcore nice guy (Jake Lacy) and winds
up pregnant. Her decision to have an abortion (and whether to tell the father)
is treated with tears, laughs and, most importantly, honesty. It takes an
incredibly hot-button subject and treats it with heart and humor and that makes
it a worthy title to bring back the rom-com from its near death
experience. </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Considered for spot # 10:</b> Nightcrawler, The Fault in Our Stars, Life Itself</span></div>
Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-31140020681454060682015-01-11T16:20:00.001-05:002015-01-11T16:26:53.722-05:002014 Television: Best Episodes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://theotherjournal.com/filmwell/files/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-19-at-11.33.34-AM-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://theotherjournal.com/filmwell/files/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-19-at-11.33.34-AM-1.png" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I watch a lot of TV and yet I still feel like I'm doing really bad at TV. There are so many shows I want to watch but haven't yet: The Americans, Transparent, The Knick, etc. But alas, here are my favorite episodes of each TV show I'm actually caught up on. Spoilers, cause duh.<br /><br /><b><u>Top Five</u></b><br />Mad Men: "The Strategy"<br /><br />As "The Suitcase" (season 4's boxing match between Don and Peggy) is probably my favorite episode of television ever, it's obvious why I love "The Strategy." I'm a sucker for great Don and Peggy moments. Their dance to Frank Sinatra's "My Way" could have easily been a series closer, but I'm so glad it wasn't. There was still the wonderful "family" meal at Burger Chef starring Don, Peggy and Pete. Surrounded by actual families, this little "work" family got the chance to have a meal together where for at least a moment, everyone is supporting each other. Obviously, it's a little on the nose that the strategy in question, which Peggy has been struggling with all season, ends up being about family coming together. But has on the nose ever been so beautiful as those three sitting in the brightly lit Burger Chef? It looks like a candy-coated Edward Hopper painting. The splitting of season 7 feels more offensive for Mad Men than when it was done for Breaking Bad. I think it's because the show feels like so much more of a slow burn than BB's breakneck binge pace. It felt really cruel to make us stop when not much had ultimately happened, but plenty still did. Is there anything Peggy could have longed to hear more than when Don tells Peggy, "I worry about a lot of things, but I don't worry about you?" Considering where they started the cruelly short season, Peggy and Don finally found their way back to understanding each other, and they did it, (yes, as cheesy as it sounds) their way. <br /><br /><b>Silicon Valley: “Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency”</b><br />And we move from the high-brow brilliance of Mad Men to the low-brow genius of an epic dick joke. Not only the climax (sorry) of a truly great first season, this episode is a masterful example of what makes this show work. The cast's chemistry is undeniable as they work through the strokes (I know) of if Elrich could actually jerk off everyone in a presentation hall. Luckily, this incredible sequence pays off story-wise when it inspires Richard to somehow trim the fat on his app and achieve a record-breaking Weissman score and win the competition. Our lovable losers get a win to finish the season, while setting up all the ways this win will cause more problems in season two. I can't wait.<br /><br /><b>Game of Thrones: "The Lion & the Rose"</b><br />Game of Thrones really knows how to throw a wedding. Thing is, it usually waits until the end of the season to really punch us in the mouth, but not this time. The events of Joffrey and Margery's wedding set up the rest of the season, and non-book readers were no doubt caught off guard when the guy who was set up to be our big bad was so casually dispatched. The build-up is a lesson in creating tension, but that could be just because I knew what was coming. Did non-book readers have any idea something terrible/awesome was going to happen? I'm sure it didn't matter because the satisfaction of seeing this image, makes this episode one for the ages.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.dailyvedas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/joffrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dailyvedas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/joffrey.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>True Detective: "The Secret Fate of All Life"</b><br />This is the episode after the one with "the shot." That has gotten plenty of warranted praise, but I chose this one because of what it reveals about the aims of the series as a whole. It's in this episode where we realize this story isn't really about the case, per se. It's where we realize we're dealing with unreliable narrators and raises the question of why? It's also the episode with the T-shirt-worthy "Time is a Flat Circle" speech. Simply said, this is the episode where everything changes, and True detective declared that it was about so much more than a murder case.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Masters of Sex: "Fight"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't think there was room in my TV-loving heart for two episodes that use the background of a boxing match as a way into a dance between two characters (see above mention of Mad Men's "The Suitcase"), but then here came Masters of Sex's take on what apparently is a convention. What made this episode so compelling was that the battle going on with our characters stems from their insistence that their connection is purely "based on the work." This is the first time where we really see evidence that that just isn't the case. Between sex sessions, Bill and Virginia's true selves are revealed whether through direct discussions or role play. They talk about their childhoods, past loves and the pros and cons of refusing to fight or throwing well-timed punches. They each do both during the course of this bottle episode, but at the end, both have more wounds than we originally thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>Honorable Mention</b></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>You're the Worst: "Sunday Funday"</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This show was such a fun find. I watched the entire first season while traveling in Spain and loved every bit of it. The story of terrible people Gretchen and Jimmy who realize they might just be perfect for each other seems pretty standard. But their quick banter and cast of colorful sidekicks quickly made this a favorite of mine. This episode wins extra kudos for an appearance by a Silicon Valley crush, Thomas Middleditch, and the actual emotion it delivers when Gretchen and Jimmy finally come clean with what the want from each other. Plus, I love how Jimmy' outrage that Gretchen can't choose between Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel is jut a a cover up for his outrage about what he views as her choosing between staying with him and going off with Ty. Don't we all have those, "YOU MUST CHOOSE" arguments all the time? I loved how this one actually ended up meaning something.<br /><br /><b>Veep: "Crate"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Um, because this is everything: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><b><u>The Best of the Rest (in alphabetical order)</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Affair: "Pilot"<br />Boardwalk Empire: "Eldorado"<br />Brooklyn Nine-Nine: "The Jimmy Jab Games"<br />The Comeback: "Valerie Gets What she Really Wants"<br />Community: "App Development & Condiments"<br />Downton Abbey: "Christmas Special"<br />Fargo: "Buridan's Ass"<br />Girls: "Flo"<br />Homeland: "There's Something Else Going On"<br />House of Cards: "Chapter 14"<br />The Leftovers: "The Prodigal Son Returns"<br />Louie: "Pamela Part 3"<br />The Mindy Project: "I Slipped"<br />New Girl: "Thanksgiving IV"<br />Orange is the New Black: "A Whole Other Hole"<br />Parks & Recreation: "Moving Up"<br />Sherlock: "The Sign of Three"</span><br />
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Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-33185951661018634672015-01-06T11:24:00.002-05:002015-02-09T10:03:17.381-05:002014 Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/scottmendelson/files/2014/02/the-lego-movie02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/scottmendelson/files/2014/02/the-lego-movie02.jpg" height="163" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">After finally having to cut myself off, here is the rundown of all the 2014 releases I saw this year. The ones I saw in the theater are marked with (T). Made it to 60 movies total, same as last year. Gotta step it up for 2015. </span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></b>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfect</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boyhood (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The LEGO Movie (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greatness</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Birdman (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Fault in Our Stars (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gone Girl (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guardians of the Galaxy (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life Itself (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nightcrawler (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obvious Child</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selma (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Theory of Everything(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under the Skin (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whiplash (T)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">X Men: Days of Future Past (T)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><u>Very Good</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American Sniper (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big Hero 6 (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Captain America: The Winter Soldier (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Edge of Tomorrow (T)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Grand Budapest Hotel (T)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Imitation Game (T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inherent Vice (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Locke</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Most Violent Year (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neighbors (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The One I Love</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only Lovers Left Alive (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Skeleton Twins (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snowpiercer (T)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">22 Jump Street (T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><u>Loved It with Major Caveats</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Interstellar (T)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><u>Solid</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tracks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unbroken (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What If (T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wild (T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b><u>Silly But Fun</u></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (T)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Godzilla (T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Horrible Bosses 2 </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Into the Woods </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moments of Greatness but Should Have Been Better</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Foxcatcher </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frank</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Muppets Most Wanted </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">St. Vincent </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meh</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Begin Again</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big Eyes </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chef </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Divergent (T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magic in the Moonlight </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Turner </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not Good</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Amazing Spiderman 2 </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bad Words </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Noah </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Other Woman</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Five </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Terrible</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dumb Dumber To </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maleficent </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just too Upsetting</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still Alice </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(T)</span>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-64595849995924110782014-12-29T01:41:00.000-05:002014-12-30T00:35:07.555-05:002014 Movies: Trailers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9RhRHozsWD7o9XBM-utHfwCs30mfPdWX3Mp9L1no1Ka-P-GXFOyICkoeIre6Yd1B2wDLQSQKwoX4R0Ow-yd9P77ySmHA5nnzlRqokw9GceMpAS0Ojd55mSX0JIM8o_XToDirAGRozNwk/s1600/birdman-levitation.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9RhRHozsWD7o9XBM-utHfwCs30mfPdWX3Mp9L1no1Ka-P-GXFOyICkoeIre6Yd1B2wDLQSQKwoX4R0Ow-yd9P77ySmHA5nnzlRqokw9GceMpAS0Ojd55mSX0JIM8o_XToDirAGRozNwk/s1600/birdman-levitation.jpeg" height="172" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I'd estimate that 75% of my Facebook posts are movie trailers, I felt it was appropriate that I start my 2014 year-in-review by sharing my favorites from the past year. </span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></b>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></b>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Best Trailer</u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Birdman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I remember being so excited to see Michael Keaton I could barely contain myself. Then I actually realized what was happening in this trailer and by the time the camera pushes down that hallway and we see those little birds fly over director </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Alejandro</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> González </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Iñárritu's name, I was completely sold. The trailer does an amazing job of giving us a taste of the awesome visual style of the film, while setting up the story, giving us hints of its great performances and offering a taste of its magical realism so you are somewhat prepared for it. Plus, the music cues are just great -- the film's drum score moving into "Misunderstood" and then into the film's more sweeping, classical score. Gives me the giddys and I've already seen the film twice.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uJfLoE6hanc" width="560"></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Best Use of Music</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guardians of the Galaxy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now everything about this is great. I love how it moves from it's Indiana Jones homage to right away showing that the film will have a sense of humor about itself. But obviously what really sold this was the inclusion and amplification of Blue Swede. It's a great song to play over a montage and equally great for the titles to appear over. By the time the film came out and we realized how integral to the plot this song (and the rest of the film's music) was to the plot, the trailer was even more awesome in retrospect. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/d96cjJhvlMA" width="560"></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Best Series of Trailers</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As someone who had read the book, the brilliance of marketing this film with these propaganda teasers before an official trailer can not be understated. The whole movie is all about selling itself, so these two Capitol propagandas set the tone really well before we get to the more conventional (but still great) trailer and make this campaign something you really remembered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#1</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g9-fxkJj7K8" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/k4e-qJdEAXo" width="560"></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Finally #3</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3PkkHsuMrho" width="560"></iframe> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Nerd Alert</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars: The Force Awakens</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, yes, we've been down this road before. I remember all too well how awesome the trailer for The Phantom Menace looked. I probably watched it a hundred times (in a very tiny window), but I must say this trailer just made me feel relieved. I loved how it focused on new characters so we weren't distracted by how the original trio has aged. I loved how it announced it was a Star wars trailer with a simple shot of desert and a unfamiliar man in a very familiar uniform. And if the sound of those horns playing over a swooping </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Millennium Falcon doesn't make your heart swell with excitement, you may be too far gone. But you guys, I think we're in really good (JJ) hands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OMOVFvcNfvE" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Best Unexcepted Disneyness</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Avengers: Age of Ultron</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was little, all I wanted was to meet Pinocchio at Disney World. Once I did, I burst into tears because he was terrifying. Disney finally realized this and allowed the creepster edition of "I've Got No Strings" to score this trailer and my nightmares have come to life, only this time they are voiced by James Spader. I picked the extended version of this trailer because it at least includes a little humor (what actually made The Avengers a great film) in the first part before continuing to torment us with that shiver-inducing song. Also, WHY THE BALLET DANCERS JOSS?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PqkR0SwFN_4" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Most Intense (tie)</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whiplash</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American Sniper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quick cuts matched with either drums or heartbeats and I just can't even with either of these. They play especially well in dark theaters when you can hear the audience exhale when they are both over and you're back in silence. So, so good.</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7d_jQycdQGo" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MItGoIxoVGk" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>So. Many. Tears</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Fault in Our Stars</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cried while watching this trailer. I teared up at the ads on TV. I am a sucker. But the moment I knew it was truly great was when I was in my kitchen and I heard it playing on the TV. Then I walked into the living room to see my male roommate tearing up while watching it. Okay? Okay. Oh, god, it's happening again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9ItBvH5J6ss" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Indie Spotlight</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The One I Love</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This actually tells you a lot more than you realize. This movie was so weird and fun and the trailer sets that up perfectly. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jCOvhojlZzQ" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>OMG Award</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jurassic World</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slowed down original score?! Chris Pratt?! "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Park is Open" tagline?! ALL BRILLIANT!</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RFinNxS5KN4" width="560"></iframe> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-85226551009759969722014-06-19T12:36:00.000-04:002014-06-19T12:36:01.456-04:00For Discussion: 22 Jump Street and the Blessing or Curse of Expectations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWAMze0IJQv-_y9vVH6Z7zB4aKjEAbjlEbbpG5Rr30VgKqqP02QnPsdyaqWq4Iyqmfdjqrl8_5Rcs5K14mGhZce6PetO6moX1O0sjVZX5W46o55U-QzAxyDRyE8INBRdOXzfLcBQXMqPp/s1600/22-Jump-Street-Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWAMze0IJQv-_y9vVH6Z7zB4aKjEAbjlEbbpG5Rr30VgKqqP02QnPsdyaqWq4Iyqmfdjqrl8_5Rcs5K14mGhZce6PetO6moX1O0sjVZX5W46o55U-QzAxyDRyE8INBRdOXzfLcBQXMqPp/s1600/22-Jump-Street-Review.jpg" height="163" width="320" /></a></div>
Every time I told someone I saw <i>22 Jump Street</i> last weekend, I felt judged. When I would instantly praise the virtues of 2012's <i>21 Jump Street</i> as evidence that its sequel was something worth getting excited about, I was still met with skepticism. Then I remembered something, my experience, and judging by the internet, most critics' experience of <i>21 Jump Street</i> benefited from low expectations. Movies, especially comedies, succeed or fail based on audience expectations. Even Rotten Tomatoes in its aggregate summary noted that the movie "offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite." "Surprising" is the key word here.<br />
<br />
Why are we surprised? Simply, it's because we see a trailer and instantly judge what kind of experience we assume we'd have watching said advertised movie. How that movie meets or fails those expectations directly affects our enjoyment. <i>21 Jump Street</i> is an objectively well-made movie. The writing is clever, the actors are committed and the direction is confident. However, going in the audience was conditioned to expect the worst based on the fact that the movie is a reboot of an old TV show. We'd lived through <i>Dukes of Hazzard</i> and <i>Charlie's Angels</i>, after all. Even someone who'd never seen the TV show could still learn from past experience that these movies are usually terrible. But I somehow found myself giving it a chance and I'm so glad I did. Now the sequel is here and it again surpassed my expectations. We've been conditioned to expect sequels to be inferior movies. This one embraces that expectation and then has so much fun proving it wrong.<br />
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The tricky part comes now. I've talked these movies up so much that people who have watched them based on my glowing recommendation inevitably find themselves underwhelmed. What can we do?! How can we watch a movie without any expectations in order to have a more pure movie-going experience? I'm open to suggestions.<br />
<br />
<i>What about you guys? What's a movie that has defied your expectations lately, either for the good or bad? My other recent case of defied expectations was </i>Godzilla<i>. That movie's trailer sold me a lie (Cranston's importance) and I couldn't recover from it for the rest of the movie. </i>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-44479252535137579392014-02-28T17:15:00.001-05:002014-02-28T17:15:26.584-05:002014 Oscar Picks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijCk56yqRj1tR1EXE539LIBSNxDRFbk5xCty4ILth6wKKMsIMMn_1TEDl3IgSQGPEs-QpOn9fFMXanjyOlpCdfA-hpQTgDlr1F3_NyiKU3EBepr6LhBJomN_LD_bhLDb2Htaz8MfV6RngG/s1600/oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijCk56yqRj1tR1EXE539LIBSNxDRFbk5xCty4ILth6wKKMsIMMn_1TEDl3IgSQGPEs-QpOn9fFMXanjyOlpCdfA-hpQTgDlr1F3_NyiKU3EBepr6LhBJomN_LD_bhLDb2Htaz8MfV6RngG/s1600/oscars.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I was on FIRE this year and was able to see most of the Best Picture movies more than once. Will it help in my predictions? We shall see. WE. SHALL. SEE.<br />
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<b><u>Best Picture</u></b><br />
<i>American Hustle<br />Captain Phillips<br />Dallas Buyers Club<br />Gravity<br />Her<br />Nebraska<br />Philomena<br />12 Years a Slave<br />The Wolf of Wall Street</i><br />
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Let's start with the WHY nominees. <i>Philomena</i>, you are a very sweet and affecting little movie. But I'm afraid no one will remember you after ... wait no one can remember that you are even nominated period. Sorry, Dame Judi. Everyone else, you are all worthy and welcome in this category. <i>Her </i>is the movie I swoon just thinking about (see <a href="http://on-lollipops-and-crisps.blogspot.com/2014/01/2013-movies-top-10.html" target="_blank">here</a>), but I have equally strong feelings on <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i>, <i>Gravity</i> and <i>12 Years a Slave</i>. Conventional wisdom has this category as a tight race between <i>Gravity</i> and <i>12 Years a Slave</i>, and for good reason. Both are incredibly powerful films and crowning achievements in cinema, but I give the edge to <i>12 Years a Slave</i>. The academy loves its Best Picture winners to honor "important" films, but more than that, while <i>Gravity</i> has visuals that will be rightfully remembered, <i>12 Years a Slave</i> has a story that everyone should be REQUIRED to watch for many years to come. That makes is sound like homework, but I don't mean it to. It should be required not only because of it's subject matter, but also because it is a completely engrossing and beautiful piece of movie making.<br />
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<b>My vote:</b> <i>Her</i><br />
<b>Will in: </b><i>12 Years a Slave</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Director</u></b><br />
David O. Russell, American Hustle<br />
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity<br />
Alexander Payne, Nebraska<br />
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street<br />
<br />
Man, what a category! I wouldn't be mad if any of these guys took home the prize. How did a 71-year-old create the insanity that is <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i>? Well, he was Martin Scorsese, that's how. Alexander Payne captures the Midwest in devastating detail in <i>Nebraska</i>. David O. Russell has proved himself to be a ringmaster of absolutely mental performances in <i>American Hustle</i>. But this is where I think <i>Gravity</i> will and should succeed. Yes, without Steve McQueen <i>12 Years a Slave</i> would be a very different, and probably a less impactful film. However, without Alfonso Cuarón, <i>Gravity</i> simply wouldn't exist. He literally invented technology that could give him the film he wanted. But the best part is, the film feels effortless when really it took an herculean amount of work to make, and that is something definitely worth honoring.<br />
<div>
<br />
<b>My vote:</b> Alfonso Cuarón, <i>Gravity</i><br />
<b>Will in: </b>Alfonso Cuarón, <i>Gravity</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Best Actor</u></b><br />
Christian Bale, <i>American Hustle</i><br />
Bruce Dern, <i>Nebraska</i><br />
Leonardo DiCaprio, <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i><br />
Chiwetel Ejiofor, <i>12 Years a Slave</i><br />
Matthew McConaughey, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i><br />
<br />
Some media I've read is still saying this category is up for grabs. Granted, I'd be incredibly happy to see Leo collect his first well-deserved Oscar or even watch Chiwetel thank the real-life Solomon Northup at that podium, but those writing that either of those scenarios are still a possibility are underestimating the power of the McConaissance. And unlike the annoying "It's time" story line assigned to Sandra Bullock for that travesty <i>The Blind Side</i>, McConaughey actually really deserves his Oscar for his heartbreaking performance as AIDS-afflicted Ron Woodruff. Yes, there are shades of his classic Wooderson accent, but otherwise, he's almost completely unrecognizable. Considering the majority of his career was spent playing the same womanizing beefcake, it's really is McConaughey's time.<br />
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<b>My vote:</b> Matthew McConaughey, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i><br />
<b>Will in:</b> Matthew McConaughey, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Best Actress</u></b><br />
Amy Adams, <i>American Hustle</i><br />
Cate Blanchett, <i>Blue Jasmine</i><br />
Sandra Bullock, <i>Gravity</i><br />
Judi Dench, <i>Philomena</i><br />
Meryl Streep, <i>August: Osage County</i><br />
<br />
This category is tougher than it looks at first glance. Cate Blanchett is widely considered a lock for her staggering portrayal of an unraveling former socialite in Woody Allen's <i>Blue Jasmine</i>. And while I won't be mad if she collects the award, I'm more impressed by the craft of two other nominees: Sandra Bullock and Amy Adams. Being able to hold an audience's attention almost completely on your own for 90 minutes is a feat worth celebrating, and Sandra Bullock just killed it. I'd say the same of Joaquin Phoenix had he been nominated for <i>Her</i>. The movie only works because we care if she lives or dies. That's at the root of why it takes your breath away, and I'm not sure how well it would have worked with it's original casting of Angelina Jolie or Natalie Portman. I wish Bullock hadn't already won for an incredibly subpar movie. Then, there is Amy Adams. How has she not won an Oscar yet? The five-time nominee really deserves it this time. As the center of much of <i>American Hustle</i>'s drama, Adams plays two characters beautifully, easily slipping in and out of each one with ease. Her scenes with Bradley Cooper, first in a bathroom stall, and later in her apartment are a masterclass in manipulation and heartbreak. So while Blanchett will probably win for her flashier turn, my heart belongs to the best hustler in a movie filled with them.<br />
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<b>My vote:</b> Amy Adams, <i>American Hustle</i><br />
<b>Will in:</b> Cate Blanchett, <i>Blue Jasmine</i><br />
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<b><u>Best Supporting Actor</u></b><br />
Barkhad Abdi, <i>Captain Phillips</i><br />
Bradley Cooper, <i>American Hustle</i><br />
Michael Fassbender, <i>12 Years a Slave</i><br />
Jonah Hill, <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i><br />
Jared Leto, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i><br />
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I would make an impassioned defense of Michael Fassbender here because he is absolutely magnificent in <i>12 Years a Slave</i>, even better on a rewatch, but this category rightly belongs to Jared Leto. I was even surprised how much more I enjoyed Bradley Cooper on my second viewing of <i>American Hustle</i> and Jonah Hill and Barkhad Abdi are both wonderful surprises, but Leto's performance was simply transformative. And not just in the physical sense, which is obvious and less interesting to me. But in the sense that I completely forgot about any other role I'd ever seen him in. More so than McConaughey, Leto is the heart of <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i>. When I watched Rayon make herself the epitome of uncomfortable by putting on a suit, I couldn't help but be astounded by the brilliant sadness and steeliness of Leto's performance. It's something incredibly special and it deserves the Oscar it will surely receive on Sunday.<br />
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<b>Should win:</b> Jared Leto, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i><br />
<b>Will in:</b> Jared Leto, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i><br />
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<b><u>Best Supporting Actress</u></b><br />
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine<br />
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle<br />
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County<br />
June Squibb, Nebraska<br />
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The nomination is gift enough for Sally Hawkins and even more than that Julia Roberts name here is a simple star placation, much like her costar Meryl's place in Best Actress. Then there is June Squibb, who is hilarious and wonderful in <i>Nebraska</i>. However, I know I am not alone in being over the trope of older women playing crass and getting praise. You can almost hear the squeak of "Oh look how cute that mean old lady is." I don't want to take away from her performance, because it is so fun and strong, but eh, I'm just over roles like that. In the other corner is Jennifer Lawrence in <i>American Hustle</i>, which is clearly just the latest stop of her charm offensive. I join the world in loving Lawrence on and off screen. She's probably the funniest part of <i>American Hustle</i> and she moves easily from the comedy to the drama, just like she did for her Oscar-winning role last year in <i>Silver Lining's Playbook</i>. However, I couldn't help shake the feeling that she was playing dress-up most of the time. I actually think she is put to better use in <i>Catching Fire</i> for a JLaw 2013 performance worth lauding. That leaves Lupita Nyomg'o, who was my favorite part of <i>12 Years a Slave</i> even before she showed herself to be a fashion powerhouse and just an utterly charming young person in interviews. Her Patsey is a mountain of beautiful played sadness and desperation in a film filled with it. Her dynamic with both Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender is stunning, with special mention for the scene when she (SPOILER) begs Ejiofor's Solomon to kill her. She is so resolved in her decision that we almost hope he actually does it for her. She is simply brilliant and I hope the Academy can see through its crush on Lawrence to reward her for it.<br />
<br />
<b>Should win:</b> Lupita Nyong'o, <i>12 Years a Slave</i><br />
<b>Will in:</b> Lupita Nyong'o, <i>12 Years a Slave</i><br />
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<u><b>Other Category Predictions</b></u><br />
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Best Original Screenplay: <i>Her</i></div>
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Best Adapted Screenplay: <i>12 Years a Slave</i></div>
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Animated Feature: <i>Frozen</i><br />
Foreign Language Film: <i>The Great Beauty</i><br />
Production Design: <i>The Great Gatsby</i><br />
Makeup: <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i><br />
Sound Editing: <i>Gravity</i><br />
Sound Mixing: <i>Gravity</i><br />
Visual Effects: <i>Gravity</i><br />
Cinematography: <i>Gravity</i><br />
Documentary Feature: <i>20 Feet from Stardom</i><br />
Documentary Short Subject:<i> The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life</i><br />
Film Editing: <i>Gravity</i><br />
Short Film, Animated: <i>Get a Horse!</i><br />
Short Film, Life Action: <i>Avant Que De Tout Perdre</i> (Actually saw these and this one was by far my favorite)<br />
Costume Design: <i>The Great Gatsby</i><br />
Original Score: <i>Gravity</i> (But I wish <i>Her</i>)<br />
Original Song: "Let It Go" from <i>Frozen</i></div>
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Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-58870890154292815572014-01-28T23:13:00.000-05:002014-01-28T23:13:13.576-05:002013 Movies: Top 10Ranking movies is always tricky because you are inevitably looking for something different from each film. The common denominator I've tried to stick to when ranking these picks — obviously beyond if I felt the movie was worthy — is the film's re-watchability. That factor helps me determine rank better than arguing other points that aren't as easily measured. This normally works great, but this year there were exceptions, which I address below. With that, I present my favorite films from 2013 (here is your SPOILER warning):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKfSUjQzEiuH406P7FtEEgzuBZTltS6kKcEGzTRrOVvS5H5GiAv8TWs4VkJ3htcB0f4ij7KnSWmIJVaejZAqLizvHvSe-3wfqYkCdMHwY77QM3D6aEy31RhiANEOJ3zNxWjBkYiMnypwl/s1600/before-midnight-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKfSUjQzEiuH406P7FtEEgzuBZTltS6kKcEGzTRrOVvS5H5GiAv8TWs4VkJ3htcB0f4ij7KnSWmIJVaejZAqLizvHvSe-3wfqYkCdMHwY77QM3D6aEy31RhiANEOJ3zNxWjBkYiMnypwl/s1600/before-midnight-1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><b>1. <i>Before Midnight</i></b><br />
<i>Before Sunset</i> has a PERFECT ending. When Before Midnight was announced I was both thrilled and terrified. What if they messed it up? I should have had more faith. Director Richard Linklater and his cohorts Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have created something truly remarkable. We've watched these two fall in love, find each other and now it's time to get down and dirty with what that love actually means. We meet up with Jesse and Celine nine years after Jesse missed his flight in <i>Before Sunset</i>. The partners (they never got married) are vacationing in Greece with their twin daughters. A date night intended as a gift starts them on their usual walk-and-talk and turns into something we haven't seen before from these two — a fight and a doozy of one. Was it hard to watch two characters I've rooted for over 18 years throw vitriol at each other? God, yes. But it was so wonderfully written, both funny and heartbreaking, real and raw that it made me fall for them all over again. While the fight in the hotel room has gotten most of the attention, it's the final scene that really is the key to the film. Both actors so fully inhabit their characters at this point that it almost seems moot to praise them but watch them both closely in that scene. It starts with charming Jesse trying to warm up an icy Celine. And you watch him grow more and more frustrated with her stubbornness, so much so that he is ready to give up. Then there's a moment during a loaded silence where you see her choose. She chooses him again, after everything. And isn’t that what long-term relationships are all about? Choosing each other over and over again? It's so beautifully done that it's honestly hard to even write about. Some say this film is too hard to watch, but on repeat viewings I've chosen to marvel. Jesse and Celine are fighting because they have something worth fighting for, and I can't think of anything more romantic than that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gZSTQ0HNcqHMY5EJKyvltwTLYXoFGEYdcbeBqQEqGSy7LVnUW_gxj7WNx7dwMyatspMxDc8kyk121mPjZvpQe7CuRg38p_biTp6YcxCaGsVT8I26ga8XwsYbEgY1JnMUGr9dgu9N3zSn/s1600/her-movie-review-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gZSTQ0HNcqHMY5EJKyvltwTLYXoFGEYdcbeBqQEqGSy7LVnUW_gxj7WNx7dwMyatspMxDc8kyk121mPjZvpQe7CuRg38p_biTp6YcxCaGsVT8I26ga8XwsYbEgY1JnMUGr9dgu9N3zSn/s1600/her-movie-review-1.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a><b>2. <i>Her</i></b><br />
Clearly I'm a sucker for a love story, but I wasn’t expecting <i>Her</i> to be so much more than that. It’s a love story that can actually surprise and provoke questions about the fundamentals of what's at the root of two people's connection. And based on sheer ambition the film deserves all the praise it can muster. Spike Jonze has created a film so lovely, so heart-breaking and yet so weird that it's tough to imagine any other director who could master all the parts of a story like this. Everything from the delicate music to the fashion (I’m on board with the high-waisted pants gentlemen) to the Instagram filter-like haze emboldens his vision of the future as a place that is familiar and yet still slightly out of our grasp. The film leaves you full of questions and lets you decide the answers for yourself. Phoenix's lovelorn Theodore's journey to connect with his Scarlett Johansson-voiced OS works on so many levels that it's almost exhausting to think about it, but I don't think anyone who has seen it will be able to stop.<br />
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<b>3. <i>12 Years a Slave</i></b><br />
This is where ranking based on re-watchability gets tricky. I've never seen a movie like <i>12 Years a Slave</i> and I'm not sure how soon I'm ready to see it again. I want to see many parts of it again. There is a scene that still haunts me where the incredible Chiwetel Ejiofor has a moment of silence for what he's just witnessed, and for just a second he looks right in the camera. There's just so much greatness like that amid all the stuff that's just so hard to watch. And it should be hard, shouldn't it? But just because it's difficult to sit through doesn't make it any less beautiful. Steve McQueen, whose movie Shame I found similarly difficult to watch for completely different reasons, has created the movie about slavery that we didn't know we were missing. Finally, we see slavery from the point of view of not only unspeakably evil white characters who aren't just stock villains, but also fully developed African-American characters that show slavery in several different stages. From Alfre Woodward's slave mistress turned wife to Lupita Nyong'o's devastating "chosen one," the film feels well-rounded with characters we haven't seen before. I'm confident in saying I have never felt so emotionally drained after seeing a film. Its greatness lies in the fact that as time has passed and I remember all its brilliance, I'm willing to put myself through it again.<br />
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<b>4. <i>Gravity</i></b><br />
<i>Gravity</i> is the closest I think I'll get to what people must have felt like when they saw the original <i>Star Wars</i> in 1977 — dumbstruck with awe at the images and sounds on the screen. But to say that <i>Gravity</i> is just a special effects showcase would be unfair. Sandra Bullock deserves all the accolades she's received for completely holding the screen, usually all on her own, in a movie that knew that it didn't have to be three hours to be mesmerizing. There's also been plenty said about how the dialogue is clunky and no one cares about Bullock's character's back story, and at first I was inclined to agree. But I think the movie wouldn't have been as affecting without it. Yes, the fetal position emergence from the space suit made my eyes roll, but that didn't mean it wasn't a beautiful image. The tears floating toward me in 3D were a gimmick, but that didn't mean I didn't feel for Bullock's character as she cried them. The dichotomy of the film's message of "Don't Let Go" in the physical space against how Bullock's character must let go of her past is an interesting one that I don't think can (or should) be so easily dismissed in the face of such stunning visuals.<br />
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<b>5. <i>This is the End</i></b><br />
The concept could have gone horribly wrong. The idea of a bunch of actor's playing versions of themselves could have quickly felt self-indulgent and relied too much on inside jokes. However, the brilliance of <i>This is the End</i> is that we're in on the joke. We've watched these actors in enough movies (and know enough about their public persona off screen) to be able to revel in all the pointed jabs and jokes they make at each other's expense. The plot is relatively thin — actors are stranded at James Franco's house after Judgment Day starts during his Hollywood party — but it gives the actors more room to create sequences that are worth watching as their own short films. From the Pineapple Express 2: Blood Red trailer to Jonah Hill's serious actor turned demon to the final glorious heavenly dance party, <i>This is the End</i> just keeps building to its ridiculous and awesome conclusion. Sure, it probably could have lost 20 minutes near the end, as most films of this ilk could, but that hasn't stopped me from rewatching it more times than any other film on this list.<br />
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<b>6. <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i></b><br />
The fact that this brash, brazen, madcap black comedy was made by 71-year-old Martin Scorsese is just one of the things to marvel at as you are sucked into the world of swindler Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). Set in the decadent days of martini-and-cocaine-lunches, the film tells the story of how Belfort sold his lifestyle of drugs, sex and money to thousands of people, getting rich in the process. I don't know if DiCaprio has ever been this fun to watch. He's playing with a (who would have guessed it) equal in Jonah Hill as his bucktooth partner in crime. Does the film promote or indict the behavior on screen? Absolutely not, and anyone who says it is reveling in it must have forgotten the terrible scene where Belfort punches his wife and tries to flee with his daughter after doing enough coke to kill a normal man. How can anyone watching that scene think the film thinks this guy is great? Yes, we laugh at all the ridiculous things he and his cohorts get up to, but we still cringe every time they turn to drugs and whores over and over. The movie probably didn’t need to be three hours, but I believe that the what some have called monotony of watching Belfort and his cohorts keep making the same reckless decisions over and over again is kind of the point. These guys never learned to change, never thought about their victims or felt remorse even after stints in prison. Even at the end, Belfort is still selling, and unfortunately, America is still buying.<br />
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<b>7. <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i></b><br />
Since seeing the trailer I was obsessed with the soundtrack, so when the movie turned out to be just as lovely and considered as the music I rejoiced in a Cohen-induced euphoria. Llewyn Davis is a jerk. There's no reason we should care what happens to him, and yet Oscar Issac soulful eyes and completely enchanting voice make it too difficult to resist him. Though many complained the film had no plot, what feels like a casual check-in on a week in this man's life tells his story of failure and artistic disappointment much better than a traditional biopic might have done. Also, I plan to watch Adam Driver sing his part in "Please Mr. Kennedy" on repeat whenever I'm in need of a pick-me-up.<br />
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<b>8. <i>Drinking Buddies</i></b><br />
It's clear from some of the other choices on this list that I have no problem with films where nothing much happens. Just two characters talking is more than enough for me. So even though this small and lovely story about friends who work at a Chicago brewery may seem odd to include on a list with such IMPORTANT productions as <i>The Wolf of Wall Street </i>or <i>12 Years a Slave</i>, I loved it just the same. Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson as a pair of best friends have both never been better, and as the two friends move through their relationships with their respective significant others, Ron Livingston and Anna Kendrick, questions about their feelings for each other inevitably crop up. The naturalistic dialogue and camera work really makes you feel like you are encroaching on something intimate and real. So though the movie may feel small or even inconsequential to some, I found it to be one of the most rooted-in-real-life film experiences of my movie-going year.<br />
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<b>9. <i>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire</i></b><br />
I didn't LOVE the first Hunger Games as much as I wanted to. As a huge fan of the books, something just wasn't right the first time around. With <i>Catching Fire</i>, all is forgiven. Based on my favorite book of the trilogy, <i>Catching Fire</i> finds heroine Katniss Everdeen thrown back into the arena, but this time with a much more experienced group of killers. But the fun of this movie isn't just what is happening in the arena as much as what's happening outside it. Katniss has become a symbol of hope for the oppressed people of Panem and the scenes showing the growing unrest are some of the film's most powerful. All the shaky-cam annoyance from the first film is gone and the two-hour-plus run time sails buy without notice. Jennifer Lawrence may be getting more praise for American Hustle, but I think her Katniss is much more in her wheelhouse, and is actually the better performance. The last shot where every nuance of her face goes from devastation to sadness to resolve is nothing short of incredible.<br />
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<b>10. <i>Captain Phillips</i></b><br />
The last scene. The. Last. Scene. It was at the moment where the movie turned from a <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> on the sea to something infinitely more interesting. Has Tom Hanks ever been better than when all the tension of the past two hours is finally released? I think not. It's just so refreshing to see an actor actually react to all that has happened to his character over the course of a movie, especially after watching countless movies where the hero never even acknowledges all the trauma he's witnessed. Then there's the entire first part of the movie, which despite a real clunker of an opening scene between Phillips and his wife, is a nail-biting thriller with a hopefully star-making performance by Somali-born Barkhad Abdi. Director Paul Greengrass presents the pirates as fully-formed characters with motivations and desires all clearly communicated. While the journey is full of classic Hollywood storytelling, by the time Phillips is taken into that medical exam room, we're ready to authentically crumple right along with him.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-40993272571142070392014-01-02T22:22:00.001-05:002014-01-02T22:29:05.051-05:002013 Movies: TrailersBest trailer:<b> Her</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ne6p6MfLBxc" width="560"></iframe>
<b><br /></b><br />
<br />
Best music change: <b>American Hustle</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bh1KFX0ymTQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Most insane: <b>The Wolf of Wall Street </b>(with an assist by Kanye)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iszwuX1AK6A" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Best cut to movie title: <b>Inside Llewyn Davis</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LFphYRyH7wc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Greatest restraint (It only teases the first half of the movie): <b>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EAzGXqJSDJ8" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Best line read: <b>Captain Phillips</b> (Three way tie between "They're not here to fish." "Look at me. Look at me. I'm the captain now." and "Maybe in America. Maybe in America."<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Sp6jpeDeQmE" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Unexpectedly and awesomely dark considering the movie: <b>Iron Man 3</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2CzoSeClcw0" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Sentimental favorite: <b>Before Midnight</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/euOJkb0U8vE" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Sexiest without doing much: <b>Much Ado About Nothing</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rUWlPjXvFZU" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Creepiest: <b>Stoker</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JNpDG4WR_74" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Excited for 2014: <b>X Men: Days of Future Past</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pK2zYHWDZKo" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Worst Trailer: <b>The Big Wedding</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/T4AxNRPAggE" width="560"></iframe>
Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-77641502467501456722014-01-01T12:17:00.001-05:002014-02-04T23:17:44.228-05:002013 Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So this year I decided to count all the movies I saw that were released during the calendar year instead of just the ones I saw in the theater. The ones I saw in the theater are marked by a (T). To compare with last year's count, I saw 54 movies in the theater over last year's 44. However, using the new system I saw 60 2013 releases. I credit this record high number to my new job, which during the summer allowed me to leave early on Fridays and sometimes sneak in two movies before anyone else was even out of work for the night. All movies are listed in categories in alphabetical order. Stay tuned for my actual top 10, to be posted soon.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Perfect</u></b><br />
12 Years a Slave (T)<br />
Before Midnight (T)<br />
Her (T)<br />
Jurassic Park 3D (T)<br />
<br />
<b><u>Greatness</u></b><br />
All is Lost (T)<br />
American Hustle (T)<br />
Captain Phillips (T)<br />
The Dallas Buyers Club (T)<br />
Drinking Buddies (T)<br />
Enough Said (T)<br />
Frances Ha<br />
Gravity (T)<br />
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (T)<br />
Inside Llewyn Davis (T)<br />
Iron Man 3 (T)<br />
Nebraska (T)<br />
This is the End (T)<br />
The Wolf of Wall Street (T)<br />
Warm Bodies (T)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><u>Solid</u></b><br />
About Time (T)<br />
Blackfish<br />
Blue Jasmine (T)<br />
Blue is the Warmest Color (T)<br />
Fruitvale Station (T)<br />
The Heat (T)<br />
In a World (T)<br />
Kill Your Darlings (T)<br />
The Kings of Summer (T)<br />
Mud (T)<br />
Philomena (T)<br />
The Place Beyond the Pines (T)<br />
Rush (T)<br />
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (T)<br />
Side Effects (T)<br />
The Spectacular Now (T)<br />
Star Trek: Into the Darkness (T)<br />
The Way Way Back (T)<br />
The World's End (T)<br />
<br />
<b><u>Silly but Fun</u></b><br />
Anchorman: The Legend Continues (T)<br />
Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (T)<br />
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (T)<br />
Now You See Me (T)<br />
Thor: The Dark World (T)<br />
The To-Do List (T)<br />
We're the Millers<br />
<br />
<b><u>Moments of Greatness but Should Have Been Better</u></b><br />
August: Osage County (T)<br />
The Butler (T)<br />
The Bling Ring (T)<br />
Don Jon (T)<br />
The Great Gatsby (T)<br />
Identity Thief<br />
Man of Steel (T)<br />
Saving Mr. Banks (T)<br />
Spring Breakers<br />
Stoker<br />
Trance (T)<br />
<br />
<b><u>Terrible</u></b><br />
Elysium (T)<br />
The Counselor (T)<br />
Oz: The Great and Powerful (T)<br />
<br />
<b><u>Just too Upsetting</u></b><br />
The Act of KillingLindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-89306176425216146882013-12-30T20:51:00.001-05:002013-12-30T20:51:18.933-05:00I am TERRIBLE at BloggingThis year has flown by and I haven't written ANYTHING since the Oscars. That is ridiculous. I logged in to see I had three drafts from earlier this year, but just had to delete them at this point. However, I did see way more movies than last year so stay tuned for a movie rundown and top 10 to be posted later this week. And once more I'll resolve to write more in the new year.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-43299885395525882022013-02-17T11:18:00.000-05:002013-02-24T11:19:05.596-05:002013 Oscar Picks<br />
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My work's conference is a weekend later so, for the first time in two years, I get to watch the Oscars live! YAY!! I'm having a viewing party, complete with ballot betting. This year has some categories that could go in several ways, so it should be an exciting one. As for the TV show, God help us survive all the Family Guy voices Seth MacFarlane unleashes on us all.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Picture</b><br />
Amour<br />
Argo<br />
Beasts of the Southern Wild<br />
Django Unchained<br />
Les Misérables<br />
Life of Pi<br />
Lincoln<br />
Silver Linings Playbook<br />
Zero Dark Thirty<br />
<br />
Like I said in my <a href="http://on-lollipops-and-crisps.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-movie-rundown.html" target="_blank">yearly roundup</a>, I’ve been unable to rank this year’s movies, having liked a lot of them, but not definitively LOVED any of them. Conventional wisdom has Argo losing because of Ben Affleck’s snub, but I’m convinced that snub helped the film more than it hurt. The Academy wants to reward him, and this is where they’ll do it. As for me, I’ve gone back and forth between Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook for weeks trying to decide my personal favorite. It’s a moot point at this juncture, so I’ll say the move that should win is the one that I’m most anxious to see again, which at this point is Zero Dark Thirty. <i>Note: I’ve seen Argo twice and Silver Linings Playbook three times.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty</b><br />
<b>Will Win: Argo</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Best Director</b><br />
Michael Haneke, Amour<br />
Ang Lee, Life of Pi<br />
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook<br />
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln<br />
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild<br />
<br />
I really liked Lincoln. I saw it twice, and enjoyed it both times. I respect Spielberg’s commitment to bringing this version of Lincoln’s life to the screen. I appreciate his direction to writer Tony Kushner to focus just on the amendment’s passage. I just can’t muster up much enthusiasm for the film besides Daniel Day-Lewis' performance. So I guess he gets credit for hiring him? Eh, I’m more impressed with Ang Lee. He directed a massive movie, in 3D, which featured water, animals, unknown actors and what many called an unfilmable novel. That’s enough reasons for me. Yes, most of what I’ve read calls this category for Spielberg, but I’m letting this be my wild card category.<br />
<br />
<b>Should Win: Ang Lee, Life of Pi</b><br />
<b>Will Win: Ang Lee, Life of Pi</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Best Actor</b><br />
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook<br />
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln<br />
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables<br />
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master<br />
Denzel Washington, Flight<br />
<br />
This category was over when Day-Lewis’ casting was announced. Better luck next time gentleman, but thanks for playing.<br />
<br />
<b>Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis</b><br />
<b>Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Best Actress</b><br />
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty<br />
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook<br />
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour<br />
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild<br />
Naomi Watts, The Impossible<br />
<br />
The Impossible is one of the few movies in major categories that I haven’t seen, so I can’t speak on Watts’ performance with much authority. Emmanuelle Riva broke my heart in Amour and I would not be mad if she won. Quvenzhané Wallis is adorable and was fantastic in a kid-actors-are-usually-terrible way. So that leaves Lawrence and Chastain. Lawrence has this category pretty much sewed up, and she deserves it. Hers is the performance with the most diversity. She’s funny, heartbreaking, crazy and sexy, all in the same role. She has the most to do character-wise, hence why she’s as close to a frontrunner as the category has. Personally, I’m more impressed with what Chastain was able to do with so little. We don’t get to know her Maya. We just get to see her laser focus on accomplishing her mission. It’s a quieter performance, but I think that makes it the more powerful. Especially, at the end, when she’s accomplished her mission and we get the payoff of two hours of her stoic, determinism—a human moment that completely saved the movie from being completely cold.<br />
<br />
<b>Should Win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty</b><br />
<b>Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Best Supporting Actor</b><br />
Alan Arkin, Argo<br />
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook<br />
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master<br />
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln<br />
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained<br />
<br />
I had the most fun watching Alan Arkin, and I wish he’d gotten more push in this category. However, it was not meant to be. I see it as a toss-up between De Niro, Lee Jones and Waltz. I think PSH’s is critics’ actual favorite, but critics don’t vote for the Academy. He is remarkable, but I think the polarizing nature of the film as whole counts against him. As for the frontrunners, I enjoyed Lee Jones the most, so I have him taking it. <br />
<br />
<b>Should Win: Alan Arkin, Argo</b><br />
<b>Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln</b><br />
<br />
<b>Best Supporting Actress</b><br />
Amy Adams, The Master<br />
Sally Field, Lincoln<br />
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables<br />
Helen Hunt, The Sessions<br />
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook<br />
<br />
Another lock, and for good reason—Anne Hathaway is the best part of an overstuffed, hyper-emotional act-off. In another year, Helen Hunt would have my vote. I really enjoyed The Sessions and am still smarting from John Hawkes snub for Best Actor. But this is Hathaway’s to lose, and she just won’t.<br />
<br />
<b>Should Win: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables</b><br />
<b>Will Win: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>Other Category Predictions</u></b><br />
<br />
Adapted Screenplay: Argo<br />
Original Screenplay: Django Unchained<br />
Animated Feature: Wreck-It Ralph<br />
Foreign Language Film: Amour<br />
Production Design: Anna Karenina<br />
Makeup: Les Misérables<br />
Sound Editing: Skyfall<br />
Sound Mixing: Les Misérables<br />
Visual Effects: Life of Pi<br />
Cinematography: Life of Pi<br />
Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man<br />
Documentary Short Subject: Mondays at Racine<br />
Film Editing: Argo<br />
Short Film, Animated: Paperman<br />
Short Film, Life Action: Curfew<br />
Costume Design: Anna Karenina<br />
Original Score: Life of Pi<br />
Original Song: “Skyfall”<br />
Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-36347005540268703292013-01-02T20:42:00.000-05:002013-02-21T20:49:49.933-05:002012 Movies: Scenes that StuckSometimes one or two scenes/sequences can really make a movie. They can even save a mediocre one. Here are 9 that really did both from 2012’s movies, plus a few other notables that I liked. Obviously, a SPOILER ALERT is needed here.<br />
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<b>Best Decision to Use Less Dialogue: “Flight”</b><br />
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When the sound of a fridge clicking to life can make an audience gasp, you know you’ve done something special—a scene just as tense as anything in “Argo” or “Zero Dark Thirty,” but a wonderfully wordless one. Late in the film, all Denzel Washington’s Whip Whitaker has to do is not drink for one night. Then we hear the whir of a motor and realize there is a mini fridge beckoning him to destroy himself. We watch in agony as he opens the door and surveys all the glittering liquor bottles, takes one out and, eventually, sets it on the counter. Everything about the scene is elegantly framed and the pacing is so perfect that you can feel everyone in the audience collectively, silently screaming DON’T DO IT!!!!<br />
<br />
<b>Creepy but Captivating: “The Master”</b><br />
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I had some problems with “The Master” as a film overall, but there is nothing wrong with the performances. They are incredible, practically on another level than the film itself. Nowhere is this more evident than the first “processing” scene where PSH’s religious leader asks Joaquin Phoenix—a broken and volatile WWII vet—a series of questions. The questions, which are often repeated, start with the simple “what is your name?” and build to the deeper, “are you often consumed by envy,” which slowly but surely enrapture Phoenix’s Freddie. When PSH’s Dodd tells him they are finished for now, Freddie begs him to continue. Then comes the interesting part, the pair start on a series of questions Freddie must answer without blinking or Dodd says they must start over. This series takes place in one long take as we watch Freddie struggle with both keeping his eyes open and telling the truth. It’s a deeply unsettling scene that illustrates, if only for a moment, why Freddie continues on his insane path for the rest of the film.<br />
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<b>Best Use of Matthew McConaughey Ever: “Magic Mike”</b><br />
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The scene only last maybe two minutes, but it tells you all you need to know about the kind of movie you are about to watch. The movie opens on McConaughey’s strip club owner, on stage, in leather chaps, going over what the ladies in the audience can and cannot touch. But it’s the way he delivers the line “The law says you cannot touch…but I think I see a lot of lawbreakers up in this house,” that is so brilliant I can’t even pinpoint why exactly. Then he does a little shimmy and the scene cuts to black. I remember seeing the line in the trailer, and it’s what sold me that the movie had the potential to be great. It’s the line modern McConaughey—the one who forgot how talented he could be per “A Time to Kill” and the one who has become more famous for being shirtless than possibly any other actor in history, except perhaps Taylor Lautner—was born to deliver. The rest of the movie is him chewing scenery, reminding us all how good he can be. And it starts with that line and a shimmy, all at the right moment.<br />
<br />
<b>Most Upsetting: “Prometheus”</b><br />
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Almost too upsetting to even mention, but something I definitely did not think I’d see in a movie this year: a self-administered alien c-section. Note: I never need to see it again.<br />
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<b>Biggest Surprise: “Skyfall”</b><br />
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He enters deep in frame, just a smudge of blond hair and light suit, slowly walking toward camera. He delivers a story about rats eating each other. But I don’t think anyone could have expected what happens next. In Javier Bardem’s quest to make Daniel Craig’s James Bond as uncomfortable as possible, he unbuttons his shirt, strokes his chest and face and touches his leg. It’s both unintentionally hilarious until you realize you are only laughing because of how uncomfortable you feel. About the time Bond makes a crack about it perhaps not being his first time, Bardem and Craig have created one of the best Bond and villain scenes in the series 50-year history.<br />
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<b>Oscar that Should Have Been: “Django Unchained”</b><br />
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Leonardo DiCaprio obviously holds a special place in most girls of my age’s hearts. His status as dreamboat has never wavered, but his career choices have been so impeccable as of late that he has overcome that label to be known as just a damn fine actor. He’s flirted with Oscar three times before, but when I saw the trailer for Django I thought for sure this was his year. The Supporting category is where Clooney won, so it makes sense that DiCaprio could find similar respect there. My hope for his Oscar was turned to near certainty with one particular scene in the film—the dinner scene where he explains of the three dimples found in African-American skulls. His Calvin Candie has just discovered that Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx have entered his plantation under false pretense, and instead of confronting them directly; he weaves a tale about his papa’s old slave Ben’s skull. Throughout the monologue he is all courtesy and grandeur on the outside, but it’s his eyes that sell it. You can see the years of hatred in those eyes. When the scene turns and we see him do one of his trademark screams and slam his hand on the table and cut it—which I had read he did on accident and just went with, which, of course, meant Tarantino couldn’t resist that take—I was in complete awe of him. To watch an actor you’ve loved for what feels like your whole life go to a place where you almost can’t watch him means he is doing something very right. And curse Oscar for overlooking it.<br />
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<b>Most Emotional from Unexpected Place: “Ruby Sparks” </b><br />
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From the trailer you might expect “Ruby Sparks” to be just a cute little movie, made by a real life couple, but you’d be very wrong. It does have those elements, which hooked me from the beginning, but what it really is is something much darker. Its concern is control. Paul Dano’s Calvin creates Ruby and can make her do whatever he wants with the tap of his typewriter keys. This idea is at its most terrifying toward the end of the film when he tries to make her understand she literally can’t leave him. He sits at the typewriter, bathed in shadows, and writes despicable things for Ruby to do—speak French, act like a dog, tell him over and over how much she loves him and that he is a genius. Each slam of the typewriter with its patented ding is like a dagger to both Calvin and Ruby, cementing that what is to come is going to be even more unpleasant. By the end, both are completely broken that the truth of what can happen when you lose yourself in a relationship or when you crave a certain level of control over someone you love is palpable. The scene is a go-for-broke acting exercise for both Dano and screenwriter Zoe Kazan, and just thinking about it makes me feel sick to my stomach.<br />
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<b>Most Emotional (fan girl edition): “The Dark Knight Rises”</b><br />
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I’m a sucker for closing the loop. I love callbacks or anything that can make me feel gratified for paying attention, or at least, being there from the beginning. After suffering a broken back courtesy of Bane, Bruce Wayne recovers in a pit of a prison, where the prisoners are tortured by the possibility that they might be able to climb out. He tries and fails to climb out twice, but once his sage-like prison mate tells him to try it without the rope, the real good stuff begins. We watch him climb up a pit just like we watched him fall down a pit in “Batman Begins”. It is in that pit that a young Bruce Wayne is inspired to become Batman. Then present-day Wayne gets to the platform where he must make the jump without a rope, and a swarm of bats escape from the pit’s walls. Hans Zimmer’s score swells, the chanting of the prisoners escalates and then he jumps… all sound is sucked out of the scene until he lands on the platform safely. It made my heart full of joy with its perfectly calibrated comic book cheese, done in a way that only Nolan’s Batman films could pull off.<br />
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<b>Most Emotional (musical obsessed edition): “Les Misérables”</b><br />
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I have a weakness for “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” in the stage version of “Les Misérables”. It’s where I lose whatever composure I had left and become a balling, heaving mess. However, the film version, while still powerful didn’t destroy me in the same way. Probably because Anne Hathaway had already destroyed me with her endlessly discussed performance of “I Dreamed a Dream.” It made me tear up with just the trailer, but the actual scene itself is the one place in the movie where Director Tom Hooper’s annoying obsession with close up actually works for me. <br />
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<b>Other Notable Scenes:</b><br />
“Silver Linings Playbook:” Jennifer Lawrence destroys Robert De Niro’s Eagles theory.<br />
“The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey:” Gollum and Bilbo play riddles in the dark.<br />
“Looper:” Torture victims lose their limbs in past and affect their future selves.<br />
“Zero Dark Thirty:” After a decade of hunting Bin laden, Jessica Chastain has nowhere to go.<br />
“Argo: The hostages get pulled aside at the airport.<br />
<br />Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-21514338315603380352013-01-01T15:22:00.002-05:002013-01-01T15:27:15.187-05:002012 Movies: TrailersEveryone is well aware that I love a good trailer. Here are my favs from this year.<br />
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Trailer that made me weep repeatedly: <b>Les Miserables</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EnLSG5t_dc8" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that made me nervous even though I knew how it turns out: <b>Zero Dark Thirty</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YxC_JNz5Vbg" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that made my heart burst with happiness: <b>Moonrise Kingdom</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_eOI3AamSm8" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that I loved but never even saw the movie: <b>Snow White and the Huntsman</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2-UMNSVX7_I" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that made me read the book first: <b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n5rh7O4IDc0" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that made me root for an Oscar for a performance: <b>Django Unchained</b> (Leo)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/s8CZKbDzP1E" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that succeeds because of one line: <b>Magic Mike</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eMU7s6cwxEM" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that made me grateful I never hated Ben Affleck: <b>Argo</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n6Z0aG9G8Mw" width="560"></iframe>
Trailer that made me swoon: <b>Skyfall</b> (the cuff adjustment heard round the world)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YvV3g8hLlyU" width="560"></iframe>
Best trailer of 2012: <b>The Dark Knight Rises </b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GokKUqLcvD8" width="560"></iframe>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-91940784690778968962012-12-31T13:36:00.005-05:002013-01-02T21:26:55.694-05:002012 Movie Rundown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year was a fantastic year for movies. However, for the first time, I can't really anoint any of the movies I saw as "Perfection." I feel passionately about all the movies under "Excellent," but not to the degree that I could make an argument for any of them being perfect. So you only get "excellent" movies this year.<br />
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Note: I was running behind last year's total until my flight got cancelled and I had three extra days in New York before coming home for Christmas. Those three days allowed me top last year's total of 42 by two, with 44, which includes a viewing of Titanic in 3D that is not ranked below because I think everyone knows my feelings on that movie by now. I also decided to mark which movies I saw more than once in the theater and to include movies I watched on the plane to Paris since they were fairly current in theaters. What did I miss? Where did I go wrong? Speak up . . .<br />
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<b>Excellent</b><br />
Argo<br />
The Avengers (2)<br />
The Dark Knight Rises (2)<br />
Django Unchained<br />
Les Miserables<br />
The Perks of Being a Wallflower<br />
Ruby Sparks<br />
Silver Linings Playbook (2)<br />
Skyfall (3)<br />
Zero Dark Thirty<br />
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<b>Solid </b><br />
The Amazing Spiderman<br />
Beasts of the Southern Wild<br />
Flight<br />
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey<br />
The Hunger Games (3)<br />
Lincoln (2)<br />
Looper<br />
The Master<br />
Moonrise Kingdom<br />
Pitch Perfect<br />
21 Jump Street<br />
The Sessions<br />
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<b>Fine</b><br />
Anna Karenina<br />
Celeste and Jesse Forever<br />
The Five-Year Engagement<br />
Friends with Kids<br />
For a Good Time Call…<br />
Life of Pi<br />
Lola Versus<br />
Prometheus<br />
Safety Not Guaranteed<br />
This is 40<br />
The Woman in Black<br />
Wreck-It Ralph<br />
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<b>Eh</b><br />
The Campaign<br />
To Rome with Love<br />
Wanderlust<br />
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<b>Just Silly</b><br />
Magic Mike<br />
Ted<br />
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2<br />
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<b>Just Bad</b><br />
Hitchcock<br />
John Carter<br />
What to Expect When You’re ExpectingLindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-15184041572827499672012-10-04T15:05:00.000-04:002012-10-04T15:05:54.040-04:00Trailer Time 10/3/2012<b>The Lone Ranger</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SDBAqgRF6qw" width="560"></iframe>
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Predictably Johnny Depp gets the real mythic treatment in this first look at Gore Verbinski's (the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and let's never forget, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236493/" target="_blank">The Mexican</a>) long-gestating take on the '50s Western icon. Armie Hammer stars as the titular hero but it's clear who is really being used to sell the movie: Depp in "crazy" makeup with a bird on his head, cause come on, why WOULDN'T he?<br />
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<b>The Guilt Trip </b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7FMQLzOq1i4" width="560"></iframe><br />
In what should have been called "Jewish Mom Takes a Road Trip," "The Guilt Trip" pairs Barbra Streisand, in her first leading role since 1996's "The Mirror Has Two Faces," with Seth Rogan as a mother and son on a road trip. Naturally silly, mensch-y hijinks ensue.<br />
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<b>Movie 43 (NSFW)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/w9OTiI0vXi0" width="560"></iframe><br />
OK, deep breath...<br />
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This movie stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Elizabeth Banks, Hallie Berry, Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Gerard Butler, Kristen Bell, Anna Faris, Kate Winslet, Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Seann William Scott, Chris Pratt, Justin Long, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Josh Duhamel, Live Schreiber, Bobby Cannavale, Kate Bosworth, Jason Sudeikis, Johnny Knoxville, Tony Shalhoub, Kieran Culkin, Jack McBrayer, Stephen Merchant and John Hodgman, and is directed by Elizabeth Banks, Peter Farrelly and Brett Ratner, among eight others.<br />
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THAT is a lot of star power in one movie. Apparently this was filmed over a period of four years in order to fit everyone in. The plot is a secret but it's clear by this trailer it will include lots of actors using words and speaking on subject matter that you thought was unbefitting to their "craft."<br />
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<b>Lincoln</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F_PfTl63qQQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
Now, that is more like it. The first trailer for this indulged in schmaltz fest, but this one gave me goosebumps. Angry Abe is a much better color on DDL than battered Abe. Not to mention some great lines from the gaggle of grizzled character actors that populate the rest of the cast. So now we've seen sentimental Spielberg and badass Spielberg. Which one will the actual movie be??Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759139936602954912.post-52158580351151306522012-06-29T15:20:00.001-04:002013-01-23T15:53:03.662-05:00Pop Culture DiaryThis post was inspired by one of my favorite pop culture blogs, NY Mag's Vulture, which recently asked Gillian Flynn, one of my favorite writers from EW, to keep a diary on her pop culture consumption for a week. I figured that was an easy way for me to write about the pop culture that's on my mind, so amazingly I managed to do it. This obviously doesn't include the vast amounts of online articles I read about pop culture daily because that would show my ridiculousness in a different way.<br />
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<b>Day 1</b><br />
<b>9:00 a.m. </b><br />
I’m about 70% into "A Dance With Dragons," the most recent entry in "A Song of Ice and Fire," which I mostly read on the subway. Chris generously let me borrow one of his many reading tablets and I’ve enjoyed not carrying around these massive books in my purse. Oh my, how IS Tyrion going to get out of this one?<br />
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<b>10:00 a.m.</b><br />
Friday means trailer day! I watched (and shared) trailers for “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kx1UK7ACmw" target="_blank">2 Days in New York</a>” and "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nyfKBnNPNE" target="_blank">For a Good Time Call</a>." I had read positive things about Julie Delpy’s follow up to “2 Days in Paris” and I’m excited to see Chris Rock in a “dramatic” role. I hadn’t head of “For a Good Time Call” until seeing this trailer but it looks fun. I have residual good feelings toward Ari Gaynor so I’d see this as part of marathon movie day. Later I watched the trailer for “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siEHekc-1oE" target="_blank">Pitch Perfect</a>,” a kind of “Glee” meets “Bring it On.” I shared the trailer with Carolyn who replied within minutes with simply:
Carolyn: well
i'll obviously be seeing that<br />
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<b>11:00 a.m.</b><br />
I’m on Spotify for most of the workday so instead of obsessively listing what songs I listen to here I’ll give you the name of the playlist. Today was a Rolling Stones day. I recently created a Wes Anderson playlist after seeing "Moonrise Kingdom" and noted that he uses a lot of Stones in his movies. Realizing I didn’t think I’d ever listened to a full Stones album I subscribed to this Ultimate Rolling Stones one and I am LOVING it.<br />
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<b>7:00 p.m.</b><br />
I took advantage of my summer Friday to catch an early showing of "Prometheus" I managed to avoid spoilers so I was excited to see it. Saw some great trailers beforehand, most of which I’d already watched online.<br />
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• "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUdM9vrCbow" target="_blank">Django Unchained</a>": SO PUMPED! Oscar for Leo!<br />
• "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyGIlUnX5yI" target="_blank">Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter</a>": I still haven’t decided on this one, I think I’ll wait for reviews to roll in to decide if it’s worth going in the theater.<br />
• "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58w1keRNYFE" target="_blank">Frankenweenie</a>": I feel like I’ve seen this trailer for MONTHS. Time to come out so I can stop.<br />
• "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFWZ6doRb34" target="_blank">Savages</a>": I hold out hope for this one, only because I love Taylor Kitsch and God knows he needs a win after "John Carter," which I did see, and "Battleship," which I totally meant to. He deserves better and Oliver Stone should be able to deliver. The trailer looks equal parts creepy and exciting. Also, hey Benicio!<br />
• "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGK0ysEPHxI" target="_blank">Gangster Squad</a>": Is it just me or is this the only movie where Ryan Gosling’s accent actually makes sense? Loving everything I’ve seen and read about this.<br />
<br />
So anyway, "Prometheus…"<br />
<br />
SPOILER ALERT: I’m so confused! I was actively enjoying the film while I was watching it but then it was over and I was like, meh. Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace are both fantastic. I genuinely thought the tattooed geologist was Christian Bale for a good 20 minutes of the film. I also knew Guy Pearce was in the movie and therefore thought he was tattooed geologist’s respected friend who wanted to CUDDLE AN EYEBALL. So. Much. Confusion!<br />
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On the other hand the scene where she performs her own C-section will haunt me for months. Overall, I just can’t muster up much enthusiasm for the film. I get that the black goo is obviously the catalyst for creating life but if this film was made to answer questions about the "Alien" mythology it failed miserably by creating so many more questions than we were prepared for. But of course, there will be a sequel to answer those quesitons! We should have known that going in guys.<br />
<br />
<b>10:00 p.m.</b><br />
Made it home to hang out with my kitten and started watching "Crazy, Stupid, Love" since I just ordered it from Amazon to push me into free shipping. Am interrupted by Alison alerting me to the fact that a man is going to walk on a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Am transfixed for a solid half hour with terror and wonder. Finish "Crazy, Stupid, Love," watch the latest "Ricky Gervais Show" (God bless Karl Pilkington) on HBOGO and go to sleep.<br />
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<b>Day 2 </b><br />
<b>9:00 a.m. </b><br />
I recently started watching "Breaking Bad" from the beginning on Netflix. I'm enjoying it but am not flying through episodes like I thought I would. I had hoped to get all caught up before the new season starts but that's not looking good right now. However, I now understand why Cranston always steals away the win from Jon Hamm at the Emmys, even though I'm not 100% supportive of it. I watch a good portion of an episode while I’m getting ready.<br />
<br />
<b>10:30 a.m.</b><br />
Before leaving for the day I watch the trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's movie about Scientology, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFzJXQMgCE" target="_blank">The Master</a>." The teaser for this focused on Joaquin Phoenix but this time PSH gets his turn. He's doing his creepy best. Man, remember "There Will Be Blood?" PTA is just the best. Also, FNL's Landry as PSH's son. Impeccable casting! I am sold. <br />
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<b>12:00 p.m.</b><br />
I spend most of the day at the Jazz Age Lawn party on Governor's Island so while there is still culture (jazzy costumes, dancing, orchestra) it doesn’t quite fit this diary.<br />
<br />
<b>5:30 p.m.</b><br />
Exhausted and sunburned I return home with some Five Guys and with every intention of watching "Animal House," which I’ve had from Netflix for weeks. Can’t seem to muster enthusiasm for it and decide to peruse Netflix Instant instead. I settle on "Kick Ass," which I’d never seen. It was fun but I think I’d heard it talked up too much.<br />
<br />
<b>9:00 p.m.</b><br />
I gorge on two episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" because I’m obsessed with it. They are followed by an episode of a spin off called "Randy to the Rescue," where Klienfeld’s “fashion director”/resident gay travels to Vegas with wedding dresses in tow to help brides find their wedding look. I obviously set a series record to this as well.<br />
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<b>11:45 p.m.</b><br />
Some more episodes of "The Ricky Gervais Show" and I’m asleep with a kitten by my side.<br />
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<b>Day 3 </b><br />
<b>9:00 a.m. </b><br />
Up to make it to brunch I watch more "Breaking Bad" while I get ready. Walter just shaved his head and now looks like the badass he is.<br />
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<b>11:00 a.m.</b><br />
Meeting friends for brunch in Harlem but they are running late so I get some more "Dance With Dragons" reading done.<br />
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<b>6:00 p.m.</b><br />
Settle down in front of the TV with my computer to get some work done. I also recently started watching "Happy Endings" from the beginning so I decide to watch that while working. I’m liking it a lot, though I wonder what the recappers say about Elisha Cuthbert’s character. Am I supposed to dislike her this much?<br />
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<b>11:15 p.m.</b><br />
The usual "Ricky Gervais" episodes play while I fall asleep.<br />
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<b>Day 4 </b><br />
<b>8:00 a.m.</b><br />
Watch some "Breaking Bad" while getting ready for work.<br />
<br />
<b>9:00 a.m.</b><br />
More "Game of Thrones" on the subway. I’m about 85% done per my borrowed Kindle.<br />
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<b>12:00 p.m.</b><br />
Today’s Spotify playlist is Ultimate Mad Men, which I’ve been listening to a lot since season five started and has now ended. Favorite entries from the past season include “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” by Dusty Springfield and “He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)” by The Crystals.<br />
<br />
<b>8:30 p.m. </b><br />
Had a date but it ended early so I was home in time to watch "The Bachelorette" and still fast forward through commercials. It’s ridiculous but I am helpless against it. The recaps on EW the next day make the humiliation of admitting I watch it worth it.<br />
<br />
<b>11:15 p.m.</b><br />
To shake things up I watch the pilot of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as I drift off to sleep. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63CBo7Z83-Q" target="_blank">Pants tent!</a><br />
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<b>Day 5 </b><br />
<b>8:00 a.m.</b><br />
More "Breaking Bad." Walter made a deal with Tuco and Jesse just doesn’t think it’s a good one.<br />
<br />
<b>9:10 a.m.</b><br />
More "Game of Thrones." I’m about 87% done. If Dany doesn’t show up in the conclusion of this I’m going to pissed.<br />
<br />
<b>10:30 a.m. </b><br />
Take a short break to watch the new "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQqjK47c04" target="_blank">The Dark Knight Rises</a>" trailer. So much more Bane! I have already secured my tickets to opening day for this and am convinced it will be the highlight of my summer.<br />
<br />
<b>12:30 p.m.</b><br />
Back to the playlist that started the Stones obsession, my Wes Anderson playlist. I was inspired to make this after seeing his most recent movie, "Moonrise Kingdom." It is fantastic and I recommend to all who love Wes Anderson. If you don’t like him, I must say, this is the most Wes Anderson-y of his films I can think of so steer clear.<br />
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<b>6:30 p.m. </b><br />
Decide to catch up on some DVR’d TV including "True Blood" and the last two episodes of "Girls." "True Blood" I can’t even say I really enjoy watching anymore. I feel like I’ve seen all these plots before. WHY are we subjected to watching Tara be a vampire? Wasn’t everyone excited when they thought she was dead and we didn’t have to listen to her anymore.<br />
<br />
As for "Girls," I’ve really enjoyed its first season. The pilot got way overhyped but the successive episodes really built on who these characters are. There has been so much written about the show that it feels superfluous to add more so I’ll just link to some of my favorite articles about it and leave it at that.<br />
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However, I will say these last two episodes were especially affecting as we see SPOILER Hannah and Marnie move farther away from each other as they each realize hard truths about themselves. We’ve all been there, right? Then Bobby Moynihan shows up and makes the season with his hilarity. "Girls," I’m signed on for season two along with DONALD GLOVER!<br />
<br />
A.V. Club article I liked: <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/how-girls-challenges-the-masculine-expectations-of,81266/">http://www.avclub.com/articles/how-girls-challenges-the-masculine-expectations-of,81266/</a><br />
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<b>10:30 p.m. </b><br />
When I turn off the DVR "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II" is on HBO and I watch until INCREDIBLY OLD SPOILER Snape is about to die and I have to turn it off because I don’t want to go to sleep a teary mess.<br />
<br />
<b>11:45 p.m.</b><br />
Ricky Gervais and Co. lull me to sleep.<br />
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<b>Day 6 </b><br />
<b>8:00 a.m. </b><br />
Nothing like watching some meth being cooked to start the day.<br />
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<b>9:00 a.m. </b><br />
More—you guessed it—"Dance with Dragons!"<br />
<br />
<b>2:15 p.m. </b><br />
Break down and watch the new "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xOSoONDpY4" target="_blank">Breaking Dawn Part 2</a>" teaser trailer. Yes, I know these movies are terrible. I suffer from a condition where I can not stand reading about pop culture events when I haven't seen/read/listened to said event. I’ve managed to not give in to this condition on things like "50 Shades of Grey" but my condition got me to read/watch "Twilight" so long ago it seems silly to stop now before it’s finished.<br />
<br />
<b>4:00 p.m. </b><br />
As a palate cleanser, I watch the new "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPGLRO3fZnQ" target="_blank">Anna Karenina</a>" trailer. I hadn’t heard about this adaptation but I am sold immediately.<br />
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<b>5:00 p.m.</b><br />
Leave promptly so I can eat before heading to "The Book of Mormon" tonight!<br />
<br />
<b>9:30 p.m.</b><br />
The Book of Mormon just got out and WOW! So fun! I forgot that I paid the big bucks to get a really good seat so I had a perfect seat for all the hilarity. My favorite part had to be when Jesus calmly called one of the missionaries a dick. And he promptly sang “I can’t believe Jesus just called me a dick!” Also, the cameos by Hitler, Darth Vader and Yoda were most welcome. Definitely worth the money. The songs will be in my head for days.<br />
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<b>Day 7</b><br />
<b>12:00 a.m. </b><br />
Head home after drinks with a visiting friend and read my "New York Magazine" because I’m too tired to focus on "Game of Thrones."<br />
<br />
<b>12:45 a.m. </b><br />
Watch "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to try and fall asleep. Have a tough time of it since my kitten has been alone all day and wants to PLAY. So I have to watch three episodes before he calms down enough for me to actually fall asleep.<br />
<br />
<b>8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.</b><br />
The usual "Breaking Bad," "Dance with Dragons" morning commences. Oh look Dany did show back up. I finish the book and have decided to read "The Devil in the White City" next. <br />
<br />
<b>1:40 p.m.</b><br />
I’m headed to the Newport Folk Music Festival at the end of July so I created a playlist of the bands playing to prepare myself. I’m really liking Blind Pilot and City and Colour so far.<br />
<br />
<b>4:45 p.m.</b><br />
Watch "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-CZi7jc6to" target="_blank">$ellebrity</a>" trailer. Hadn’t heard of this one and am impressed all these celebrities agreed to talk to the filmmaker. I am easily sold, which I’m afraid is the point the movie is making. Conundrum!<br />
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<b>5:03 p.m. </b><br />
The day is winding down and I’ve lost motivation so I watch the "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQoH1IGRB3w" target="_blank">Celeste and Jesse Forever</a>" trailer, which starts Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones in a film they co-wrote. I’d read about this during Sundance and am clearly going to see it. Looks like they’ve got great chemistry and will probably make me cry my eyes out.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08625297000661007318noreply@blogger.com1