'The Shape of Water' Wins the PGA Award

Wow! This is a surprise to me, I'd been counting this movie out of the race for Best Picture, I thought it would get the Best Director award and probably lots of the craft prizes, but winning the Producers Guild means it's competitive in Picture. Guillermo del Toro is definitely winning both the DGA and Best Director now, but maybe it's not going to be a split year after all. Could the Critics Choice awards have pegged it right, in going for this one? I guess the thing that I wonder about is whether the actors like it as much (it's not even nominated at SAG, which is tomorrow), since they make up the biggest number of voters. Something else is going to win SAG, so it could very well still be a race. And after last year, where Moonlight won Best Picture without winning a single one of the big three guilds, it feels like anything could still happen, especially with that tricky preferential ballot. But The Shape of Water is definitely up there, and will likely have both PGA and DGA (and maybe BAFTA) going into the Oscars (where it's almost certain to lead the nominations on Tuesday). Stay tuned.

PGA AWARD WINNERS

• Feature Film: The Shape of Water
• Animated Feature: Coco
• Documentary: Jane

Predictions for Sunday's SAG Awards

Well, it’s time for SAG Awards predictions. The show airs on Sunday night, so here’s who I think will walk away with the guild prizes:

ACTOR

• Timothee Chalamet- Call Me By Your Name
• James Franco- The Disaster Artist
• Daniel Kaluuya- Get Out
• Gary Oldman- Darkest Hour
• Denzel Washington- Roman J. Israel, Esq.

I think Oldman has the Oscar in the bag, and will win all the precursors leading up to it, so definitely him for this one. 

Winner: Gary Oldman

Alternate: Daniel Kaluuya (if they want to give Get Out something that’s not ensemble, this is the place for it)

ACTRESS

• Judi Dench- Victoria & Abdul
• Sally Hawkins- The Shape of Water
• Frances McDormand- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Margot Robbie- I, Tonya
• Saoirse Ronan- Lady Bird

Well, after McDormand won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice award, she appears to be the frontrunner, but SAG is the place to confirm whether this race is competitive or not, so something different could happen here. I think anyone but Judi Dench could probably win this. Interestingly no actress has ever won two SAG awards, and if Frances were to win, she would be the first (she won for Fargo of course, two decades ago). I guess I’ll stick with her, but I could see Ronan taking it as well, especially if they think Lady Bird should win something, but not ensemble.

Winner: Frances McDormand

Alternate: Saoirse Ronan

Spoiler: Sally Hawkins

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Steve Carell- Battle of the Sexes
• Willem Dafoe- The Florida Project
• Woody Harrelson- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Richard Jenkins- The Shape of Water
• Sam Rockwell- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Okay, I’m going for Dafoe here, despite the fact that Rockwell won the Globe and Critics Choice. He should probably be considered the frontrunner, but there’s a chance he splits votes with Harrelson from the same film, and SAG does have a history of liking their veteran actors, which Willem Dafoe definitely is. I’m gonna stick with him.

Winner: Willem Dafoe

Alternate: Sam Rockwell

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Mary J. Blige- Mudbound
• Hong Chau- Downsizing
• Holly Hunter- The Big Sick
• Allison Janney- I, Tonya
• Laurie Metcalf- Lady Bird

Well, I’m going to have to go with Allison Janney. I thought Laurie Metcalf would be the frontrunner in this category after winning most of the critics awards, but Janney came in and took the Globe and Critics Choice. And now that I think about it, what I think is happening is that Janney has more friends in the industry and knows a lot more people, having been in television and films for decades, while Metcalf has mostly been in theater after Roseanne ended in the 90’s. I suppose it makes sense, in terms of how people vote for these things.

Winner: Allison Janney

Alternate: Laurie Metcalf

BEST ENSEMBLE

• The Big Sick
• Get Out
• Lady Bird
• Mudbound
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The SAG equivalent of the Best Picture prize is important in telling you what film the actors support, especially in a close race. Literally any one of these movies could win here, it’s hard to make a guess. Sometimes SAG goes for a movie that really does have the biggest ensemble of actors with equivalent parts, like Spotlight, The Help and last year’s Hidden Figures (in which case this year it should probably be Mudbound), but then sometimes they do pick the movie that’s the bigger Oscar frontrunner. I’m not sure what movie has the edge right now, I really don’t. I guess I could see Three Billboards taking it? Then again, I could also see Get Out winning, or like I said before, Mudbound. Aaack. I’m completely torn on this one.

Winner: Get Out (gonna go for broke)

Alternate: Three Billboards

Spoiler: Mudbound (ironically, this one seems the most SAG like to me, and the only reason I’m not going with it is because the movie doesn’t seem to be a bigger Oscar contender- I’ll be very annoyed with myself if it pulls it off anyway)

Lightning Round Reviews, Part 2: More Films From 2017

I’m back with the next batch of mini-reviews from the movies I saw last year (so far that is, still catching up). I thought I could do it in two parts, but hey, it turns out there’s going to be a Part 3! Stay tuned:

DUNKIRK * *

The retreat from the beach through the eyes of Christopher Nolan

I almost feel guilty for not getting into this movie, like I’m too much of a novice to appreciate the filmmaking achievement that it was. But I’m not- I recognize that Christopher Nolan made a sweeping, visionary war film that for many was thrilling and unconventional in its non-linear structure. I just wasn’t moved by it. I felt detached from the action, uninvested in the anonymous characters, as if I was watching a technical exercise that had no emotional stakes. The technique is undoubtedly impressive, but the effect left me cold in spite of it. 

MOTHER! * * 1/2

Jennifer Lawrence gives it her all in this crazy allegory

I’ll give this one the extra half star for the audacity alone, but it didn’t completely work for me either. It was advertised as a bonkers head trip from a studio that had no idea who to market it to (Paramount deserves some credit for taking a risk and putting this in wide release at all), and it’s certainly that. But the biblical metaphors are so unsubtle and the last act so relentlessly unpleasant to watch that I can’t say this was an experience that I enjoyed in any way. On the other hand, it does give you a lot to think about and try to dissect after it’s over, and no film that does that is completely worthless. A mixed bag.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES * * *

Has anything changed since the 70's?

A pretty straightforward retelling of the 1973 exhibition match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, but it works best as a biopic of Billie Jean King that depicts her experience coming out (to herself) as a lesbian. It’s boosted by what was Emma Stone’s best performance of her career so far (much better than her Oscar winning one for La La Land), and Steve Carell was quite good too, but the film felt like it wanted to be Billie Jean’s story through and through. It also hit a very timely nerve in the depiction of what has and really hasn’t changed at all since the overt sexism of the early days of the women’s movement. King was and is a feminist icon to be celebrated for the barriers she fought to break down and the frustration speaks to us all every day- this is a battle that’s still being fought.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 * * * 1/2

Roger Deakins makes every scene a work of art

The astonishing cinematography and direction from Roger Deakins and Denis Villeneuve alone is enough to recommend this film, to be honest. If you’re a fan of the original 1981 classic, this is a true sequel, a faithful tribute to that influential film and the cult following it has inspired ever since. But the world created in this one, from the incredible production design and look of the film feels like something else, something genuinely new, with a languid pace and hypnotic storytelling. It almost feels too big for the script itself, which turns out to be a relatively small scale story, one that ties very closely (too closely?) to some of the characters from the original movie, when this is the kind of unique sci-fi universe that demands something truly its own. But it remains mesmerizing nonetheless and is frankly superior to the Ridley Scott film.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT * * * *

Mooney and pals left out of the American Dream

Sean Baker directs a neo-realist look a the impoverished life of a 6-year old girl who lives with her very young mother in a motel on the rough outskirts of the Disney World resort in Florida. The residents of this motel endure life the best they can, and though we don’t get the backstory of little Mooney and her mom, we see through her eyes (and that’s what makes it bearable) the hardships and occasional pleasures that entail simply surviving from one day to the next. Willem Dafoe shines as the hotel manager in a thankless job, while the kids do what they can to pass the time as their parents either manage to get by or fall off the fringes of society. Where will Mooney’s fate lie? An instant classic.

THOR: RAGNAROK * * *

A wacky 'Thor' movie is loads better than a regular one

I ended up liking this movie in spite of myself, which is pretty crazy because I hated (and I mean HATED) the first two Thor movies. But I think I can say with relative certainty that the people involved in them probably did as well, because this third entry is nothing like the previous two. Director Taika Waititi comes in and flips the franchise on its head, throwing in some Led Zeppelin, chopping off Thor’s hair and turning him into a wisecracking motormouth, adding Cate Blanchett at her campy best with some gothic headgear, and upping the overall comedic ridiculousness of it all. And it kinda works? I did laugh a few times, the pace was smooth, and all the time spent on a colorful non-Asgard planet with Jeff Goldlbum and the Hulk was so weird that I found myself enjoying it. Plus, I liked seeing Loki with the good guys and Hulk fighting a giant wolf. 

LADY BIRD * * *

Saoirse Ronan turns in another charmer of a performance

Greta Gerwig wrote and directed this semi-autobiographical comedy about a Sacramento teenager’s last year in high school circa 2002. It’s a cute, well acted and very likable movie centered on an unsettled young woman (Saoirse Ronan) who desperately wants to leave her hometown and has a difficult relationship with her mom (a really great Laurie Metcalf), but it’s not drastically different from other coming of age stories of its kind (it actually reminded me a little bit of Juno, which I liked better at the time and thought distinguished itself more with the stylized dialogue and teen pregnancy story). Still, it’s a solid and very sweet entry in the genre and a highly assured directorial debut.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI * *

Angry white people in Missouri

This is one that probably warrants a longer review, because it’s hard to summarize the conflicting feelings I had about it, and that continued to grow as the film sat with me. First of all, it’s incredibly well-acted from Frances McDormand to Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson, who are always reliable and can elevate anything they’re given. But the movie is confused in its storytelling and very muddled in its messages. Rockwell’s character is a cop who’s said to torture black people with impunity, yet writer-director Martin McDonagh is too afraid to show any of that onscreen because 1) he wants to make light of it with dark comedic jokes about police brutality and racism, which is a lot harder to do if you actually depict the racism you’re referring to, and 2) he wants to redeem his character by having him become determined to help solve the rape/murder of McDormand’s daughter (which has nothing to do with why we’re told he’s such a bad guy). The whole thing left me confused about what he was trying to say, and suspicious that this particular British white man has any idea what he’s talking about when trying to tackle rural American racism, which is why he pulls back from it and changes direction entirely. So yeah, I really wasn’t a fan of this one, but the acting IS superb, I’ll give it that.

MUDBOUND * * * 1/2

A tragedy that's all too American

Dee Rees directed this sweeping saga about two families in the South circa World War II, one white and one black, who live on the same farmland and whose lives intersect in ultimately tragic fashion. Based on a novel, it’s a sensitive, intimate look at how the unending, firmly ingrained racism at the root of America’s core poisons even the best intentions of decent people who try to transcend it through personal connection and experience. I was more moved by the places this film took me than anything else I’ve seen this year. With standout performances from a terrific ensemble cast that included Garret Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Cary Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, and Jason Clarke.

Watch 7 Year Old Brooklynn Prince Win Best Young Actress at Critics Choice Awards

She's ADORABLE!! Everybody watch this little girl's amazing speech, which didn't make the actual telecast and was streaming only. And also, seriously, please seek out The Florida Project, it's an incredible movie that's being overlooked by most of the awards this year (come on, Academy!) and really deserves the attention. 

'The Shape of Water' Wins Best Picture, Best Director At Critics Choice Awards

Well, here we go with a variety of movies about to start winning the big prize at the different awards shows! I'm glad these guys picked Shape of Water, even if it looks like they copied the Golden Globe winners exactly for all the acting categories. I hope those four do not sweep. Surprising that Lady Bird came up empty-handed here. And the strength of Three Billboards continues, winning Actress, Supporting Actor and Ensemble. Starting to think Frances may be the winner for Best Actress, which would be her second, her first since Fargo twenty years ago. I really, really hate that Willem Dafoe's award is slipping away from him- will hold out hope for SAG, but it doesn't look good.

BEST PICTURE: The Shape of Water
BEST ACTOR: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
BEST ACTRESS: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Allison Janney, I, Tonya
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
BEST ENSEMBLE: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Jordan Peele, Get Out
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Coco
BEST ACTION MOVIE: Wonder Woman
BEST COMEDY: The Big Sick
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY: James Franco, The Disaster Artist
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: Get Out
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: In the Fade
BEST SONG: “Remember Me,” Coco
BEST SCORE: The Shape of Water

DGA Nominations Announced

The all important Directors Guild announced the five nominees of the year, and there wasn't a real surprise among them:

• Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
• Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
• Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
• Jordan Peele, Get Out

These are the movies that have basically hit every guild and the DGA is right there with them. The real question is who gets snubbed by the Academy's directors branch? Usually 1-2 people from the DGA miss out, sometimes even three. And the ones who seem vulnerable to a miss there are Gerwig and/or Peele, because that directors branch likes to go for flashy, artistic "vision" nominees, and often there can be people who show up there who didn't make it in anywhere else leading up to it. But no matter who gets left off or doesn't, the fact that Get Out and Lady Bird both hit the DGA means either one of them can win Best Picture, because the support is there across the board. I would rather it be either of them than Three Billboards, that's for sure. As for who's going to win director specifically, I really think it's Guillermo del Toro, and I think that will repeat for him at the Oscars. But I also think it's going to be a split year for Picture and Director, so one of these others is going to take Best Picture, but we don't know which yet. It's a close race right now.

Here are the DGA's other category nominees, for first time director, where Jordan Peele got in twice (and I bet he wins here):

• Geremy Jasper, Patty Cake
• William Oldroyd, Lady Macbeth
• Jordan Peele, Get Out
• Taylor Sheridan, Wind River
• Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game

'The Shape of Water' Leads the BAFTA Nominations, Followed by 'Three Billboards' and 'Darkest Hour'

The BAFTAS decided to go really British this year, which is fine. I prefer when each awards body does their own thing rather than trying to predict the Oscars, and since they are the British Academy anyway, it makes sense for them to go for homegrown talent. I guess this explains the love for Three Billboards, which is a film written and directed by a British man, Martin McDonagh, although acted by nearly all Americans and supposedly about rural American racism/anger. I do not love that movie, as you'll see in my next lightning round of reviews, and I'm really hoping that this adoration from foreign voting groups (the HFPA and now BAFTA) gets turned around when the Academy goes all in for Get Out, which they clearly didn't like that much here, giving it just screenplay and one acting nod. For that matter, Lady Bird was nearly shut out as well, which is interesting. There is some overlap with Academy voters here, and since voting for Oscar nominations is literally happening right now, this may be a hint of where some things are headed. The Shape of Water looks really set to win Best Director in my opinion, but who knows what BAFTA will do in Best Film. They definitely gave a huge boost to Darkest Hour, which could be a Brits only thing, or maybe there's enough love there for it to sneak into Best Picture at the Oscars as well, despite being overlooked just about everywhere else. Despite my favorite movies, The Florida Project and Mubound once again being completely ignored, at least they liked Lady Macbeth at this one, acknowledging it in a few areas, and for Best British Film. And despite shutting out Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele, they went for a couple of interesting names in director, like Denis Villenueve (the Baftas are the one place that really liked Blade Runner 2049) and Call Me By Your Name's Luca Guadagnino.

BEST PICTURE
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST DIRECTOR
Denis Villeneuve, “Blade Runner 2049”
Luca Guadagnino, “Call Me by Your Name”
Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Jamie Bell, “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Hugh Grant, “Paddington 2”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “Darkest Hour”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Get Out”
“I, Tonya”
“Lady Bird”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Call Me by Your Name”
“The Death of Stalin”
“Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”
“Molly’s Game”
“Paddington 2”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Roger Deakins
DARKEST HOUR Bruno Delbonnel
DUNKIRK Hoyte van Hoytema
THE SHAPE OF WATER Dan Laustsen
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Ben Davis

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Jacqueline Durran
DARKEST HOUR Jacqueline Durran
I, TONYA Jennifer Johnson
PHANTOM THREAD Mark Bridges
THE SHAPE OF WATER Luis Sequeira

BEST FILM EDITING
BABY DRIVER Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Joe Walker
DUNKIRK Lee Smith
THE SHAPE OF WATER Sidney Wolinsky
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Jon Gregory

BEST MAKE UP & HAIR
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Donald Mowat, Kerry Warn
DARKEST HOUR David Malinowski, Ivana Primorac, Lucy Sibbick, Kazuhiro Tsuji
I, TONYA Deborah La Mia Denaver, Adruitha Lee
VICTORIA & ABDUL Daniel Phillips
WONDER Naomi Bakstad, Robert A. Pandini, Arjen Tuiten

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
DARKEST HOUR Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
DUNKIRK Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
THE SHAPE OF WATER Paul Austerberry, Jeff Melvin, Shane Vieau

BEST SCORE
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer
DARKEST HOUR Dario Marianelli
DUNKIRK Hans Zimmer
PHANTOM THREAD Jonny Greenwood
THE SHAPE OF WATER Alexandre Desplat

BEST SOUND
BABY DRIVER Tim Cavagin, Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Mark Mangini, Mac Ruth
DUNKIRK Richard King, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, Mark Weingarten
THE SHAPE OF WATER Christian Cooke, Glen Gauthier, Nathan Robitaille, Brad Zoern
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Gerd Nefzer, John Nelson
DUNKIRK Scott Fisher, Andrew Jackson
THE SHAPE OF WATER Dennis Berardi, Trey Harrell, Kevin Scott
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Nominees tbc
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Nominees tbc

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Coco” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
“Loving Vincent” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Ivan Mactaggart
“My Life as a Courgette” Claude Barras, Max Karli

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“City of Ghosts” Matthew Heineman
“I Am Not Your Negro” Raoul Peck
“Icarus”  Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan
“An Inconvenient Sequel” Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk
“Jane” Brett Morgen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Elle” Paul Verhoeven, Saïd Ben Saïd
“First They Killed My Father” Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh
“The Handmaiden” Park Chan-wook, Syd Lim
“Loveless” Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky
“The Salesman” Asghar Farhadi, Alexandre Mallet-Guy

BEST BRITISH FILM
“Darkest Hour”
“The Death of Stalin”
“God’s Own Country”
“Lady Macbeth”
“Paddington 2”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
“The Ghoul” Gareth Tunley (Writer/Director/Producer), Jack Healy Guttman & Tom Meeten (Producers)
“I Am Not a Witch” Rungano Nyoni (Writer/Director), Emily Morgan (Producer)
“Jawbone” Johnny Harris (Writer/Producer), Thomas Napper (Director)
“Kingdom of Us” Lucy Cohen (Director)
“Lady Macbeth” Alice Birch (Writer), William Oldroyd (Director), Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly (Producer)

BEST BRITISH ANIMATED SHORT
HAVE HEART Will Anderson
MAMOON Ben Steer
POLES APART Paloma Baeza, Ser En Low

BEST BRITISH LIVE-ACTION SHORT
AAMIR Vika Evdokimenko, Emma Stone, Oliver Shuster
COWBOY DAVE Colin O’Toole, Jonas Mortensen
A DROWNING MAN Mahdi Fleifel, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Patrick Campbell
WORK Aneil Karia, Scott O’Donnell
WREN BOYS Harry Lighton, Sorcha Bacon, John Fitzpatrick

RISING STAR AWARD (previously announced)
Timothee Chalamet
Daniel Kaluuya
Josh O’Connor
Florence Pugh
Tessa Thompson

Lightning Round Reviews, Part 1: Catching Up on 2017

I’m obviously behind on major reviews, but I wanted to do a sort of lightning round mini review round-up (still catching up with things as always at the beginning of the year), so here’s what I think of what I did manage to view in 2017. This is for the first half of the year, I’ll be back soon enough with Part 2:

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE * * * 1/2

The only context where Robin can actually work in a Batman movie?

A hilariously affectionate send-up of all things Batman that understands the character in ways the DCEU can’t even comprehend. Funny, sweet, and one of my favorite comedies of last year. 

GET OUT * * * 1/2

'Get Out' introduced the 'sunken place' into the national lexicon

Don’t know what I can say about this one that hasn’t already been said- part satire, part horror movie, Jordan Peele’s take on race relations in America remains completely unpredictable from beginning to end, never letting you see what wild direction it’s going in next. Undoubtedly one of the best and most original movies of the year.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND * *

I can't even remember what's happening in this picture

A waste of time, bad CGI, worse acting, and completely forgettable. I had to see it written on my list just to remember that I actually watched this last year.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST *

Who thought this movie was a good idea? They must be made to pay

One of the most painfully excruciating experiences of 2017, this bastardization of the Disney animated musical is at best grotesquely bizarre, at worst completely inexplicable. A film that has no justification for its existence and forces you into a garish live action cosplay retelling of a cartoon classic that makes all the songs and music worse. Horrifying.

WONDER WOMAN * * *

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot took the first female superhero to box office glory

A solid, old-fashioned superhero origin story that became a cultural phenomenon on the strength of director Patty Jenkins’ old pro style helming of the story. A second viewing made me appreciate this a tad more than I did originally- the pace is brisk, the actors charming and the humor good-natured yet not snarky in the occasionally oppressive Marvel style. Its sincerity and earnestness allow it to overcome the usual cliches and irritating studio dictated action climax, if only just by a hair. And it goes without saying it’s miles better than anything else in the DC Universe, so they’d be wise to emulate it.

THE BEGUILED * * *

Sofia Coppola's entrancing 'The Beguiled' was mostly overlooked last summer

A genuinely good remake of a Don Sielgel/Clint Eastwood starring film from the 1970’s, with Sofia Coppola directing a solid cast with assured performances from Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Colin Farrell. Both this and the 70’s version would make an interesting double feature night.

THE BIG SICK * * 1/2

'The Big Sick' was loved by a lot of people, but sadly I wasn't really one of them

A romantic comedy of sorts that tells the story of how writer/star Kumail Nanjiani met his now wife Emily, (who co-wrote the film with him and is played by Zoe Kazan in the movie). I wished I had liked this more than I did, but I just didn’t find the focus on Emily and her parents as interesting or entertaining as the film did. I kept wishing to know more about Kumail’s own Pakistani family, who are kind of given the brush-off in favor of less interesting people, even if the film has its charming moments.

BABY DRIVER * * 1/2

A better actor could have made this work 

Another half success for me. A quasi-musical that starts strong, gets shaky and eventually veers off the rails. Doesn’t help that star Ansel Elgort is one of these anti-charisma leads who can’t carry a movie, especially one that’s embracing style over substance. Still, it has a couple of exciting musical sequences from innovative director Edgar Wright.

OKJA * * 1/2

'Okja' is one weird-ass movie

And again, another uneven attempt from a worthy filmmaker, Bong Joon-ho. A little girl raises a genetically engineered pig creature and must save it from the clutches of evil corporate goons. The wildly veering tone is no surprise from the director of Snowpiercer and The Host, but this movie doesn’t hang together quite as well as those former efforts and may leave you a bit baffled, in spite of some exciting action scenes.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING * * *

Teen Spidey has never been better

To my enormous surprise, a delightfully appealing Tom Holland becomes by far the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man and his movie has more in common with a John Hughes-esque high school comedy than the usual Marvel action film. I enjoyed all the kids in this and look forward to more teen hijinks and smaller scale neighborhood crime fighting as opposed to boring world destroying visual effects.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES * * *

The apes just look better and better

A sober conclusion to the Apes trilogy, with astonishing visuals and serious themes as the end of humanity draws near. I don’t know if the franchise can go on without Andy Serkis’s Caesar, who really carries the whole thing, but I’d definitely look forward to seeing the apes evolve even more and start wearing clothes, speaking English and becoming politicians, as in the original 60’s movie. Here’s hoping it continues.

LADY MACBETH * * * 1/2

Forbidden romance and murder in the early 1800s is right up my alley

Director William Oldroyd fashions a cold, gripping Victorian chamber drama with an electric performance from newcomer Florence Pugh as a miserable young wife who engages in a torrid affair with the new stable boy (Cosmo Jarvis). Dark, strange and completely unlike your average period drama, this one burrows into your soul.

'Three Billboards' and 'Lady Bird' Win Top Golden Globes

Looks like I really underestimated the HFPA's love for Three Billboards. They gave it Best Drama, Actress, Screenplay and Supporting Actor, but I wonder how much of that love translates to the Academy Awards, which is a completely different voting group. It's in the mix, but I still think Lady Bird, which did win over on the comedy/musical side, and Get Out are stronger consensus choices. Plus, the Globes really aren't that influential, a lot of their winners don't win the Oscar, so this thing is still open.

• Best Drama: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Best Comedy/Musical: Lady Bird
• Best Actor in a Drama: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
• Best Actress in a Drama: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical: James Franco, The Disaster Artist
• Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical: Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
• Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya
• Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
• Best Screenplay: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Best Score: The Shape of Water
• Best Song: “This is Me,” The Greatest Showman
• Best Foreign Language Film: In the Fade
• Best Animated Film: Coco

My predictions didn't pan out too well, just 8 for 14, but four of the winners were my runners-up choices. Oh well. The highlight of the night was the solidarity shown by the women on the red carpet in support of the #MeToo movement and especially Oprah's acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille award, which brought the house down and will undoubtedly have people advocating for her to run in 2020. I'm hoping for a return to sanity in the form of a non-celebrity to be honest, but I will take ANYTHING. Seth Meyers did a pretty good job with the opening eight minutes taking on the elephant in the room, but that was really all it was- eight minutes of him and then he was offstage the rest of the night.

Oprah's speech is worth watching in full:

National Society of Film Critics Names 'Lady Bird' Best Picture

The NSFC went with Lady Bird for Best Picture, although it ended up beating Get Out by just two votes, and Gerwig won director over Jordan Peele by just one, so this is a real race. I already said I thought Get Out could win the Oscar, but I should say that Lady Bird is right there too. Both are the consensus choices this year that have turned up everywhere they needed to with the guilds and appear strong in the industry. The National Society of Film Critics is the last of the four major critics groups- The New York Film Critics chose Lady Bird as well, while L.A. went with Call Me By Your Name and the National Board of Review chose The Post. But Lady Bird is certainly looking good so far.

• Best Picture: Lady Bird
• Best Director: Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
• Best Actor: Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
• Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
• Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
• Best Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
• Best Screenplay: Lady Bird
• Best Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049

Golden Globe Movie Predictions

I don't feel comfortable about my predictions this year. The race is really scattered and the Hollywood Foreign Press is, as usual, all over the place most of the time. But it's tradition, so I have to do it. Here goes!

BEST MOTION PICTURE- DRAMA

• Call Me By Your Name
• Dunkirk
• The Post
• The Shape of Water
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

This is a really tough one this year. The HFPA seemed to like The Shape of Water a lot, giving it the most nominations, with seven total. I could see that winning. Then again, Three Billboards also seemed popular with them, even as it seemed an unlikely film for them to grab onto. I think I’m going to go with Del Toro’s film, but this one’s shaky.

Winner: The Shape of Water

Alternate: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST MOTION PICTURE- MUSICAL OR COMEDY

• The Disaster Artist
• Get Out
• The Greatest Showman
• I, Tonya
• Lady Bird

I think this one goes to Lady Bird, but Get Out is a possibility as well. I think Lady Bird’s a tad stronger with them, since it got a screenplay nod, so I’m leaning towards that one.

Winner: Lady Bird

Alternate: Get Out

BEST ACTOR- DRAMA

• Timothee Chalamet, Call My By Your Name
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
• Tom Hanks, The Post
• Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
• Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

I sort of assume that Gary Oldman is going to end up walking through this whole awards season, as a kind of career prize for his Winston Churchill performance. Guessing it’ll start here.

Winner: Gary Oldman

Alternate: Timothee Chalamet (I guess? Hard to know who’s even the runner-up here)

BEST ACTRESS- DRAMA

• Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
• Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
• Frances McDormand, Three Billboards
• Meryl Streep, The Post
• Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World

Oof. This one’s tough! I think it’s between Sally Hawkins and Frances McDormand and it’s probably really close. I’m gonna go with Sally (the HFPA actually likes her and awarded her Best Actress nine years ago for Happy Go Lucky), but McDormand’s right on her heels.

Winner: Sally Hawkins

Alternate: Frances McDormand

Dark Horse: Meryl Streep (Because she’s Meryl Streep and the Globes seemed to like The Post as well)

BEST ACTOR- COMEDY/MUSICAL

• Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes
• Ansel Ellgort, Baby Driver
• James Franco, The Disaster Artist
• Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman
• Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Oh, man. This one’s really hard too. Could easily be Franco, Kaluuya, even Elgort, honestly. I guess I’ll go with Franco, since his performance was the most out there and singled out critically (although that hardly matters to the HFPA). It’s a toss-up.

Winner: James Franco

Alternate: Daniel Kaluuya

Dark Horse: Ansel Elgort

BEST ACTRESS- COMEDY/MUSICAL

• Judi Dench, Victoria and Abdul
• Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker
• Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
• Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
• Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes

I think this is Soairse Ronan’s, pretty easily. Lady Bird is the frontrunner for film in this category, so it should be hers.

Winner: Saoirse Ronan

Alternate: Margot Robbie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
• Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name
• Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
• Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
• Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards

Dafoe has taken the majority of critics prizes for this category, with Sam Rockwell as runner-up. Going to assume that the Globes go with that as well, although they could go in a different direction entirely, with either Plummer or Jenkins. Sometimes they do wacky stuff like that out of nowhere. Dafoe is the safe bet though.

Winner: Willem Dafoe

Alternate: Sam Rockwell

Dark Horse: Christopher Plummer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
• Hong Chau, Downsizing
• Allison Janney, I, Tonya
• Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
• Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Laurie Metcalf has been the critics favorite on this one, so I’m going with her, but Janney is a real threat too.

Winner: Laurie Metcalf

Alternate: Allison Janney

BEST DIRECTOR

• Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
• Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
• Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World
• Steven Spielberg, The Post

I think this is between del Toro and Nolan, and I’m really not sure what the Globes will go for. I feel like flipping a coin on this one, but I’m gonna go with del Toro. 

Winner: Guillermo del Toro

Alternate: Christopher Nolan

Dark Horse: Martin McDonagh

BEST SCREENPLAY

• The Shape of Water
• Lady Bird
• The Post
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Molly’s Game

Eek. I have no clue in this category. They do like to spread the wealth occasionally…then again, they didn’t do that at ALL last year with La La Land. This group is a tough nut to crack- they could easily want to spread the wealth or fall for one movie in everything. I’m taking a shot in the dark here.

Winner: Three Billboards (it’s a guess- mostly because I haven’t picked it for anything yet)

Alternate: The Shape of Water

Dark Horse: The Post (or hell, Molly’s Game could win this because of their love of Aaron Sorkin- it’s a true crapshoot)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Three Billboards
• The Shape of Water
• Phantom Thread
• The Post
• Dunkirk

Ummm…I think The Shape of Water. But Dunkirk had memorable music too.

Winner: The Shape of Water

Alternate: Dunkirk

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Home,” Ferdinand
• “Mighty River,” Mudbound
• “Remember Me,” Coco
• “The Star,” The Star
• “This is Me,” The Greatest Showman

I think the Coco song will probably take this, right? Either that or Mary J. Blige’s from Mudbound.

Winner: “Mighty River” (Gonna hope Mudbound can win something)

Alternate: “Remember Me”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• The Boss Baby
• The Breadwinner
• Coco
• Ferdinand
• Loving Vincent

I think Coco takes it easily.

Winner: Coco

Alternate: None

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
• First They Killed My Father (Cambodia)
• In the Fade (Germany/France)
• Loveless (Russia)
• The Square (Sweden/Germany/France)

I think this is either The Square or the Angelina Jolie movie. I haven’t seen any foreign films this year, sadly, so I can only go on hype at the moment.

Winner: First They Killed My Father

Alternate: The Square

Dark Horse: A Fantastic Woman

PGA Nominates 'Get Out,' 'The Post,' 'Lady Bird'

The Producers Guild put out its top ten list today, which actually turned out to be a top eleven, claiming a tie produced an eleventh pick, although I find that suspicious. Not too many surprises here:

• The Big Sick
• Call Me By Your Name
• Dunkirk
• Get Out
• I, Tonya
• Lady Bird
• Molly's Game
• The Post
• The Shape of Water
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Wonder Woman

The PGA never matches the Oscar list 100%, and with 11 choices this time, I would say take three off, add one that didn't make it and that will be the Best Picture lineup. The three that won't make it from this would be Wonder Woman, Molly's Game and....either The Big Sick or I, Tonya or both. Both are looking strong with the guilds right now, but at least one of them will miss, since every year there's one or two guild favorites that don't go all the way. As for the movie that gets in instead, I would bet on The Florida Project, which is sort of a passion vote movie. I'm annoyed enough that it missed here, as it's my own favorite movie of the year, but I still have hope for it. The Golden Globes will happen this weekend, but I'm waiting for the DGA nominations to confirm what I've been suspecting for while, that Get Out is the movie that could actually win Best Picture this year. If Jordan Peele makes the DGA, I would start calling it the frontrunner.