INTERSTELLAR - 5 nominations

Original Score - Hans Zimmer
Production Design - Nathan Crowley (Production Design), Gary Fettis (Set Decoration)
Sound Editing - Richard King
Sound Mixing - Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker, Mark Weingarten
Visual Effects - Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher

Let me just begin by saying that I fully expect to be derided for my review of the just mediocre Interstellar.  I highly doubt they will be "retweeting" what I have to say.  The visual effects were terrific and of course, this film was just primed for all of the technical awards.  It's no surprise that it has garnered nominations for both Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.  Much like Gravity, it had a stunning musical score which Hans Zimmer created (his 9th nomination for Original Score!), and that was a nice companion piece to the visual gymnastics.  The design of the film required the ability to suppose what other planets might look like, what space travel would look like, and what redesigned future worlds would look like.  That was very well done.

Then we arrive at the narrative.  I really really liked the first hour and a half.  It was interesting story, I was riveted, I liked the characters and the complexities of their relationships and the challenge faced by Matthew McConaghey's character whether to save the world or be with his family.  The exploration of other planets was cool.  But after that first section of the film, that's where Interstellar starts to go off the rails. We learn that love is a physical property (as in, another property of physics, or maybe it was meant to be next element on the periodic table... the science was, it was, well, let's just say Neil Degrasse Tyson was not the scientific advisor on this movie), that time is fluid, and that we had the power to click our heels and go back home all along.  (Believe it or not, that was not even a spoiler.)

In my defense, I want to add that I love science fiction films.  I don't mind a crazy new wrinkle that has nothing to do with reality or anything that could ever be reality.  I'm sure Neil Degrasse Tyson does too (right, Neil? Call me!), and that he is also able to separate real scientific principles from fantastic ones.  But this one was just too cheesy, even for me.  The last hour made science too precious, too adorable, too much baby seal hugging a puppy (what's cuter than that?), to the point where they lost me.

The sad part of this film is that it should be seen in a theatre in order to fully appreciate the sound and the visuals, but the story is more of one that you could "catch it on cable."  So if you balance the excellence of the technical merits and the silliness of the story, you end up with Inter-mediocre rather than Interstellar.  

THE IMITATION GAME - 8 nominations

Best Picture - Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
Actor in a Leading Role - Benedict Cumberbatch
Actress in a Supporting Role - Keira Knightley (in 2 films with nominations!)
Directing - Morton Tyldum
Film Editing - William Goldenberg
Original Score - Alexandre Desplat
Production Design - Maria Djurkovic (Production Design), Tatiana Macdonald (Set Decoration)
Adapted Screenplay - Graham Moore

We have arrived at my favorite movie of the year, to date.  (I still have a fair few to watch before the end of the list, but let's call this a top contender.)  The Imitation Game is a biopic about Alan Turing, indisputably one of the early creators of the modern computer.  He is portrayed as a socially stunted but brilliant character who is enlisted by Britain to help crack the very complicated nazi code by which the enemy communicates during World War 2.  Turing's social challenges are further complicated by his gay identity, which is still a crime at that time in history.  He hires a handful of colleagues including Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), who help Turing both crack the code and develop more social instincts.  Despite having been central to the allies winning the war, Turing submitted to chemical castration so that he could continue his work, which is a shameful mark in Britain's history.

The entire cast was brilliant in this film, and Cumberbatch did an amazing job of capturing the essence of his character.  Knightley is good, as she always is, and I think almost any good actress in this role would be nominated for the Oscar, because of how well the part was written.  The film is riveting (even though we know the outcome!) and every element does its part to bring together an outstanding piece of filmmaking.  It is an unforgettable film, and will be one that can be seen over and over again.

In particular, I have to note the outstanding musical score.  From the moment the film opens, it is captivating and yet complimentary enough not to make the movie about the music.  Certainly, the production design is authentic and sets the stage in which the story can unfold.  These complimentary pieces are done so phenomenally that they are absolute standouts in their categories.  As always, when a film is this outstanding, credit is due to the captain of the ship, the Director, who leads all of the elements to perfection.  

This film, if you'll pardon the pun, is the real thing.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 - 1 nomination

Animated Feature - Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold

Hiccup and Toothless are back and now that they have made peace between Vikings and Dragons, they have moved on to exploring the world.  The find an ice cave filled with amazing dragons and something even more significant - Hiccup's mother appears who we thought long dead.  Together, they must all protect the dragons from the evil Drago who wants to control the dragon species and therefore, the world.  All of Hiccup's friends are back in this sequel, which means we get to hear from the likes of TJ Miller (ahem, in TWO Oscar nominated animated films), Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, and they all bring the funny that they brought in the first installment of this story.  Also a key plot point in the film is the deep control that the alpha dragon has over all dragons, and whether friendship and love are enough to overcome one's DNA - can Toothless surmount his dragon programming and remember his bond with his best friend?  Is it fair to hold Toothless accountable for actions he committed while under the alpha dragon's spell, or are there some things that are simply unforgivable?

These are the themes that fill How to Train Your Dragon 2, while also being a visually stunning work of animation.  The story is compelling, the characters are well drawn and surprisingly complex for an animated film, and it's just a delight to watch.  Of course, dragon anthropologists may dispute some of the details of the dragon portrayals and the descendants of the evil dragon in the film have yet to issue comment, but overall, I'd call it a terrific film well worth the watch.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES - 1 nomination

Sound Editing - Brent Burge and Jason Canovas

So let's just begin with a quick reminder of what the art of sound editing or sound design is.  Sound editing takes previously recorded audio elements like dialogue and sound effects and uses sound to establish the ambience of the film.  Sometimes audio elements are deconstructed or reconstructed to give the exact sound that the designer is attempting.  Sound editing is a very technical skill and you can bet that manipulating sound in a film with dragons, warring  armies, and dialogue is no small challenge.  War movies and musicals do very well in this category.

This Hobbit film is the third in the trilogy where Peter Jackson took a short book and turned it into three movies.  At the end of the book, all of the factions in the land are warring over control of the Lonely Mountain and all of the gold therein.  The interesting thing about this film is that it examines very real, very human themes - does power corrupt, is there a difference between justice and fairness, what is important to defend to the death and what requires compromise, can the little guy make a difference, what is bravery? The problem with the film is that true to its name, the majority of it is fighting scenes which means not that much actual storytelling.  This, of course, is the difficulty of taking a short book and making it into three long films - by the end, you have to make a whole movie out of the climax, and that's not easy to do.  Because of that, this is the weakest of the trilogy.  But, if you are a Peter Jackson/Lord of the Rings groupie, this will be a very satisfying experience as it brings the Hobbit tale to its conclusion.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - 2 nominations

Makeup and Hairstyling - Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White  
Visual Effects - Stephane Ceretti, Nicolar Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould

It is hard to describe how much I loved Guardians of the Galaxy.  As I've shared, I'm a bit of a Marvel and superhero groupie, and the easter eggs in this film were a bit delicious.  But this was one film that I loved enough to see it twice in the theatre.  It's a great bit of fun.

The plot of the film follows Peter Quill, aka Star Lord (Chris Pratt), a scavenger of planets who finds valuable objects and sells them to a pawn dealer.  He steals a valuable orb, and is then pursued by a former business partner and the dark and evil Ronan the accuser.  Meanwhile, two bounty hunters, Rocket, a raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper, and Groot, a tree-ish character voiced by Vin Diesel, are doing their best to capture Quill for money.  They, and Star Lord, get arrested with a green beauty named Gamora who is also trying to get the orb to keep the earth safe.  In jail, they meet up and join forces with the very powerful Drax, who is seeking revenge for the deaths of his wife and child.  The movie is the best example of the genre being action-packed, imaginative, and also hilarious, with all the snappy repartee one would expect of a film starring Chris Pratt and a talking raccoon.

The makeup transforms some of the characters so thoroughly that they are unrecognizable as humans. Somehow, turning Zoe Saldana green makes her even more beautiful, which is why we can never be best friends. (Zoe, call me! We can work it out!)  The work is certainly expected in the context of a Marvel movie that takes place in alien settings, but even Glenn Close whose character is basically human, is transformed with her hair and makeup.

Finally, the visual effects were remarkable.  There is no question that in making a movie like this, the bar is set very high because the limits of what can be done are left only to the visual effects folks' imaginations.  What makes the effects so spectacular is that they are not limited to explosions (though there are plenty of those), but they are at once visually stunning and often, unbelievably beautiful to watch.  I have to guess that Guardians of the Galaxy is a contender for the big prize.

Watch the trailer here:

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - 9 nominations

Best Picture - Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson 
Cinematography - Robert Yeoman 
Costume Design - Milena Canonero
Directing - Wes Anderson
Film Editing - Barney Pilling 
Makeup and Hairstyling - Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier 
Original Score - Alexandre Desplat 
Production Design - Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock 
Original Screenplay -  Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness 

Let's start with the fact that I don't usually "get" Wes Anderson films, but recently he has been on a tear of films of which I can't get enough.  The Grand Budapest Hotel was one of them.  Every single one of the categories for which it is nominated is absolutely correct.

Describing a Wes Anderson plot is a little bit like trying to herd cats because there are always so many things happening and you don't really know what to attend to first.  The basic story revolves around M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) a concierge at an upscale hotel and his trusty sidekick and protoge, Zero (Tony Revolori).  Gustave "services" elderly ladies who come to the hotel, and one in particular dies and leaves him a very valuable painting in her will.  Naturally, her greedy children dispute Gustave's claim to the painting, and it's fair to say in summary that hijinx ensue.

The film is funny and quirky and has Anderson's usual cast of characters (Ed Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Bob Balaban...).  For me, the real standouts of the film were the Costume and Production Designs.  The look of the film from the dilapidated hotel to the lavish version is spectacular.  The costumes are elegant and interesting, but also manage to be that particular "Anderson strange" that supports his motif perfectly.  In fact, when I saw the first 10 seconds of the trailer for the film before it came out, I immediately thought, "this is a Wes Anderson film."  All of the elements are so distinctly him that the Directorial nomination was a no brainer.

The Oscars rarely get behind movies that are not solely dramatic in nature, and to see a comedy coalesce in this way is a treat.  The Grand Budapest Hotel is grand, indeed.

GONE GIRL - 1 nomination

Actress in a Leading Role - Rosamund Pike

Gone Girl is an adaptation of the best-selling book by Gillian Flynn.  At the start of the film, we discover that Nick Dunne's (Ben Affleck) wife Amy is missing on the morning of their 5th wedding anniversary.  A media frenzy ensues and many clues point to Nick as a primary suspect.  Amy's journal is discovered during the investigation, and we begin to have insight into her view of the marriage, and we see a story that is played out with Nick's public popularity waxing and waning as each new detail comes to light.  The film has many unexpected twists and turns along the way, and to say more about it here would reveal far too much to make seeing it worthwhile.  I had read the book before I saw the movie, so part of my pleasure in seeing it in the theatre was watching others get the sensation of seeing a critical surprise about half way through the movie.

As usual, the film was not as good as the book, but it was a very very good adaptation.  Rosamund Pike plays Amy, the complex character whose parents wrote a series about her as a child entitled, "Amazing Amy."  We see how they laid all of their hopes and dreams on the fictional version of the person, and how that manifested into an adult bent on proving herself to be amazing in her own right. The character of Amy has so many faces and emotions which often present themselves literally back to back.  She can go from orgasmic to dead-eyed in a single moment.  From the time this film came out, Rosamund Pike was a contender for a Best Actress nomination.

Also notable was Kim Dickens (she plays one of the cops leading the investigation), to whom I was first introduced when she starred in a film over a decade ago called, "Things Behind The Sun."  Since then, she has taken on a series of challenging parts, and I think she deserves recognition for her work in this film, which was at once intense and kind and serious.

Carrie Coon was overlooked in the race for Supporting Actress, though the early buzz of the film was not enough to get her there in the end.  She represented the person we would all be if we learned that someone to whom we were close was accused of murder - a desire to stand by our family member combined with the very real worry that he is indeed guilty.

Gone Girl did very well in theatres and there's no mystery as to why.  It's a good old fashioned suspense film with lots of juicy surprises along the way.  Though it has only one nomination, it was certainly a contender for many categories.  With a good tub of popcorn, you'll have the best afternoon.

See the trailer here:

FOXCATCHER - 5 nominations

Actor - Steve Carell
Supporting Actor - Mark Ruffalo
Director - Bennett Miller
Makeup and Hairstyling - Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
Original Screenplay - E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman

Sports movies are among my favorite genres of film because win or lose, the notion of putting oneself out there, working hard to overcome obstacles, and what can be learned in the process is inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time.  So, without knowing much about Foxcatcher, I bought my ticket to see a great wrestling film.  Little did I know what was coming, and how much more magical and complex Foxcatcher would be.

The film is based on a true story of real life Olympian brothers Mark (Channing Tatum) and David Mark Ruffalo) Schultz.  Mark is scouted by zillionaire John DuPont, who aspires to serve as Mark's coach, father, best friend, and Machiavelli, creating a controlling and abusive relationship and slowly separating Mark from his brother who has heretofore been Mark's trainer and coach.  

We see the sad life of a rich person who has never been held to any standards, and who believes himself to be good at anything and everything, but also knows deeply that he is good for nothing. This lack of self esteem leads him to need more and more from Mark, while David is constantly trying to get his brother's focus back to Mark's life's aspiration.

The performances of the three leads is unbelievable.  Steve Carell is nearly unrecognizable in the film, not just because of the superb makeup (and a much deserved nomination for that team), but because he alters himself so dramatically to emulate John DuPont.  Mark Ruffalo gives a strong and worthy performance as he struggles to maintain the charade that DuPont is head coach which all the wrestlers buy into in order to keep access to the incredible facilities and salaries DuPont has provided.  But the real story of this film is Channing Tatum, who somehow manages to alter his skull, his walk, his manner - this is not the Tatum we have ever seen before.  I was dearly hoping that the Academy would do for Tatum what they did for Geena Davis when she won for The Accidental Tourist, and move Tatum's role to the Supporting Actor category so that there would be room for lauding his work in this film.  (Remembering that Davis' role was a lead role, but she was nominated for a Supporting role, knowing that the lead actress category was packed that year as the Lead Actor category is this year.)  Though the entire cast was wonderful, it is truly a shame that Tatum is the only one of the three who walks away without a nomination.  I wonder if he had had to endure the same makeup process as Carell, would he have received a nomination?  Was it too obvious a choice for Carell and not for Tatum?  We will never know but he was robbed.  But now we know he has this in him, I suspect this won't be his last crack at the bat.  (End of rant.)

Foxcatcher has been one of my favorite films of this Oscars season.  The characters were well drawn, the cast did their jobs, and the Director and screenplay made the story compelling.  As I discovered, the wrestling is merely a backdrop for a truly outstanding film.  

*How about that Mark Ruffalo, appearing in TWO films with Oscar noms this year?

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - 1 nomination

Visual Effects - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Erik Winquist

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment of the reimagined prequel to the Planet of the Apes.  In this film, the simian flu has wiped out much of the human race while the apes have become more and more advanced.  While scientists are trying to restore electricity to the human population, they discover that their needed resources are located among the apes, who are unaware that any humans still exist until the moment of their encounter.  There are agitators for war and advocates for peace on both sides of the conflict, and we see how fear breeds the thirst for fighting - both sides believing they are acting for self preservation.

Now, the effects may not be obvious at first, but apparently, there is no such thing as an ape who talks.  Lead ape Andy Sirkus' performance is completely done by motion capture, which is a big effects accomplishment.  Add in a healthy dose of explosions and the typical action movie sequences, and there you have an Oscar nominee for visual effects.  However, the Oscar for this category generally goes to a movie that has spectacular effects that add themselves to a really great story, and I'm not sure this one is strong enough to compete with some of its other nominees for this award.

I enjoyed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes when I saw it this summer.  It was a fun way to pass a couple of hours and the popcorn was delicious.  This visual effects film does harken back to the original Planet of the Apes which was culturally and politically nuanced, and asks us (in a more simplistic way than the original) to examine how we interact with cultures different than ours. Ironically, for a film that is supposed to represent post-apocalyptic San Fransisco, there are a huge number of white faces in the crowd scenes, and we certainly know that city to be much more culturally diverse than what is represented. 

Bottom line - if you're looking for a good bubblegum movie with lots of action and pretty good performances, this one is certainly ape-ropriate.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER - 1 nomination

Visual Effects - Dan LeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a very satisfying film from the world of superhero movies.  It's another in the Marvel series featuring solo projects for The Avengers, and it hits on all levels.  The visual effects are certainly marvelous, though no more of a standout than any of The Avengers films along the way.  It's a superhero movie, we know that the effects are going to be superb, so this nomination is hardly surprising, though I don't know how the Academy chooses from among the obvious choices.

The story is a fun one, with Captain America doing his best to fight a mysterious enemy and the super villain group HYDRA, who seem to have infiltrated the good guys at SHIELD.  When Director Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is gunned down, he warns our hero to trust no one in the organization. Nonetheless, he partners with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and a new friend, The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), to root out the evil, which he discovers to be closer to home and his own past than he expected.

Even though I'm a huge fan of all of the Marvel films, I have to admit that there is one element that always puzzles me.  Captain America, in this film, is fighting a big baddie who threatens the safety and vitality of the world.  Why doesn't he get on the phone at some point and ask his buddy Iron Man to come help out?  Ok, Thor is in another dimension, so he may not have cell service and the Hulk is likely off somewhere picking out clothes that go well with his shade of green, but if a threat this big is facing the world, you don't have time for a two minute phone call?

We may never know the answer to this question, but what we do know is that for a fun, popcorn movie, Captain America is a winner.  You can check out the trailer here:

BOYHOOD - 6 nominations

Best Picture - Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland
Supporting Actor - Ethan Hawke
Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette
Director - Richard Linklater
Film Editing - Sandra Adair
Original Screenplay - Richard Linklater

Boyhood is the simple story of a single mom and her two kids, their not quite a boy not quite a man father, and the ways that adult choices affect the growth of their children.  As everyone who's heard of the film knows by now, it was filmed over a period of 12 years with the same actors for one week a year, so we see the characters grow as people and we see them age, as well.  This is most pronounced for the two children who we meet when they are very young, and we watch them grow year by year.

The story isn't really one we haven't seen before, and I think that if this were any other movie without this unique approach to aging, we would call it a nice, vanilla story that is sweet and universal.  Some women make very poor choices in picking partners.  Some dads are unreliable but extremely loving. Kids go through stuff as they age and find their voices and their passions.  They become adults who leave their parents behind.

The aging is the heart of this film's acclaim.  The reason that we feel so connected is the same reason we marvel when a friend's child is about to learn to drive, go to college, get married - we watched that child grow up.  The same is true for this film, we literally watch the characters grow up, and the truth is, without that element of the film, this movie would not be an Oscar contender and it would just be a nice film about Richard Linklater's childhood.  It's a different movie entirely because of the novel approach, which is why I do recommend seeing it.  It feels like a more authentic story because of the maturation process, and that also makes the parents' journeys more real to us.  

That's why Boyhood deserves a nomination for Best Picture, but not Original Screenplay.  Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette are very good in the film, but not necessarily what I would call Oscar good (she had a juicier part, so maybe she more than he has a justified nomination, though they were both great in their parts).  Richard Linklater as the Director with the vision for this whole project is most deserving of recognition, and I believe that this may have an impact on future films in Hollywood.

I, too, am approaching a time when my oldest son will be off to college, so I'm not ashamed to admit that I sobbed like a little baby when Patricia Arquette struggled with this same life transition.  So that's where I land on Boyhood - authentic, representative of real life experiences, characters that you know.  But Oscar worthy?  The answer is 4 weeks in the making.

BIRDMAN (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - 9 nominations

Best Picture - Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole
Actor - Michael Keaton
Supporting Actor - Edward Norton
Supporting Actress - Emma Stone
Director - Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki
Sound Editing - Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock
Sound Mixing - Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
Original Screenplay - Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

Birdman is the tale of an actor, known primarily for his portrayal of a superhero, seeking validation by mounting a serious production on Broadway.  At the start of the film he is in rehearsals just days away from opening as he deals with emotional actors,  a nervous lawyer, a recovering drug addict daughter, and a haunting voice of self-loathing and self doubt embodied by his former character, Birdman.  

Michael Keaton gives a vulnerable performance and we understand that this play means everything to him - financially, spiritually, and emotionally.  He has constant hallucinations of superhero powers that range from telekinesis to flight, and each setback in the play slowly chips away at his sanity.  His ex-wife very pointedly tells him, "you confuse love for admiration," and the most powerful Broadway reviewer says, "you're not an actor, you're a celebrity."  All of this while he deals with a nervous female lead (Naomi Watts), an insane but clearly brilliant last minute cast addition in Edward Norton (himself manic and unstable, but hilarious), and a confused and struggling daughter in Emma Stone, who is raw and emotional in her own right.

This is a completely different kind of movie, and that's a tribute to Director, Alejandro Iñárritu, who had a clear vision having produced, directed, and written Birdman.  The screenplay is sharp tongued and quick witted.  It is funny and dark and emotional.

For the technical categories, the cinematography is subtle - I had to watch the film a second time to really ingest the brilliance of the camera work.  Yes, there are lots of shots in dark places with interesting lighting that usually attract the attention of this branch, but the amazing work comes in taking a drama and shooting it like a superhero movie.  I'm not sure that any of the three technical awards will go to Birdman, but the merits of the nominations are clear.

Watch the trailer here:

THE BOXTROLLS - 1 nomination

Animated Feature Film - Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight

Oy, The Boxtrolls is just so darn cute and adorable!  It was clever, creative, and delicious.

The city of Cheesebridge is home to trolls who take anything that humans leave outdoors and turn them into incredible inventions and works of art.  Each troll has his own wardrobe comprised of a box for a product that coincidentally dons his name - so the troll in the shoebox is called "Shoe," and the troll in the fish box is called "Fish."  They take in a human baby who they raise as their own, and the legend in the town begins suggesting that Boxtrolls will steal the town's children at night.  This gives license for a rich man in town to embark on a campaign to kill all of the Boxtrolls.

Their human child, Eggs, is the hero of the film, and he works to protect his Boxtroll family.  He develops a relationship with a young girl, and discovers his humanity through her.

As an aside, there is a particular obsession with cheese in the film, which frankly left me feeling hungry!  That cheese is certainly a prized possession of the town and I was ready to help them dig in. That's how great this movie is, even animated cheese looked delicious.

There is an incredible sweetness to The Boxtrolls even though there is plenty of dramatic tension and lots of crazy scenarios.  The animation was absolutely breathtaking, and the appearances voiced by Tracy Morgan and Richard Ayoade are both standout characters in the film.

Take a look at the trailer, you'll see a great snippet of the film and why it's so worth seeing:

BIG HERO SIX - 1 nomination

Animated Feature Film - Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli

Big Hero 6 is the story of precocious Hiro Hamada, a kid with a talent for robotics, who teams up with a group of smart scientist kids to fight evil in their city.  They are joined by Hiro's brother's invention, Baymax, a super puffy robot whose mission is to maximize the health of those under his care.  Baymax's protective instincts and kind "heart" make him ripe for coming to the aid of these young smarties who use their brains and scientific skills to equip themselves to be superheroes.

A particular standout in the cast (as always) is T.J. Miller who voices Fred - the goofy rich kid who gets the symbolism of what they are doing, noting training sequences as comic book references and has a particular glee in what the team is doing to fight crime.  He is the comic relief to Hiro's intensity, and he does it brilliantly.

Big Hero 6 was a standout in the animated full length feature genre this year.  I was truly delighted by it.  It's a movie that works as much for adults as it does for kids.  It's funny, it's sweet, and it approaches the super hero genre in a different way.  We have not seen this exact story a million times before.  From the day I saw it, I knew it would be nominated for this Oscar category.  Whether or not it grabs the gold, I highly recommend seeing it.

Watch the trailer (and don't forget to watch the movie until the end for a post-credits scene)

BEGIN AGAIN - 1 nomination

Original Song - Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Begin Again is the sweet, yet predictable, story of Greta (Keira Knightly), a young songwriter who has followed her boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) to New York as his music career is taking off.  Dave is on the precipice of becoming a huge rock star, and she is seeing her songs (sometimes co-authored with him) taking center stage.  When he returns from his tour, she intuits that he has cheated on her and their relationship falls apart.  Meanwhile, music executive Dan's (Mark Ruffalo) career is on a falling trajectory, and his relationships with his ex-wife and daughter aren't exactly stable.  It is at the intersection of these two talents - producer and songwriter - where Begin Again heats up.  Dan and Greta agree to record a unique album together, and their fires are rekindled - bringing her out of her post break up funk, bringing him out of his creative lull.  The great surprise of the film is how beautiful Keira Knightley's singing voice is and I left the film absolutely certain that I would buy her album.  CeeLo Green has an adorable cameo that captures his persona and his sweet side, and he was a fun addition to the film.

Lost Stars, the nominated song, is at the heart of the conflict between staying with one's old life or pursuing a new road ahead; between losing oneself to live another person's dream and letting go to find one's own voice.  It's a great song, and there are multiple versions of it as a sweet ballad, as a pop song, and as a hybrid of the two.  Check it out, performed here by Adam Levine.

Haven't seen the film?  Watch the trailer here:

AMERICAN SNIPER - 6 nominations

Picture - Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper, and Peter Morgan, Producers
Actor - Bradley Cooper
Film Editing - Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
Sound Editing - Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Sound Mixing - John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Jason Hall


American Sniper is the story of Chris Kyle, real life Navy Seal who served and survived four tours of duty in Afghanistan, and who went down in history as the deadliest sniper in the service.  His brothers in arms called him "Legend" for his accuracy and his unparalleled bravery.  Kyle becomes obsessed with eliminating a sniper from the other side whose skill is equal to his own and who injures and kills marines from incomprehensible lengths.  Chris, whose protective instincts are central to his character, feels responsible to pursue his enemies to save the lives of marines in country - this he does almost without fail.  At the same time, his wife and family are at home, and coping with the challenges of life without him, and occasionally listening in via cell phone as his unit is attacked - not really knowing if Kyle is safe at the other end of the call.

American Sniper is a superb, but difficult, film.  Of the eight nominees for Best Picture, this is the one that I'm not sure belongs in the Best Picture category.  It's a very good war film with a strong lead role, but doesn't have the same gravitas as other war films like Saving Private Ryan or Platoon.  Bradley Cooper is wonderful, and this is a version of him that we haven't really seen before in his other movies.  Cooper stretches and demonstrates what makes him so good, as he uses his face, body, and being to convey the human side of being a killer, and does this even in cases where there is no dialogue.  

The screenplay was good but could have been tightened up to capture more tension, rather than showing much of the same story again and again.  To see the same fights with Kyle's wife, the same struggle to re-enter society, and the same high tension fighting scenes didn't move the story forward enough with each scene.  Unfortunately for American Sniper, I don't see this film being the winner of this category, or many of its nominated categories.

War movies do very well in the technical categories, because of the tremendous challenge to edit scenes and sound, and sound mixing, in particular.  American Sniper is a very strong contender in these areas, especially Sound Mixing.  (Stay tuned for my predictions blog at the end of the season to see if I think it will be the winner.)

Because Sound Mixing is a technical category, I'll explain it here, and in a future post will explain the difference between this and Sound Editing.  The challenge for the sound mixer is to take all of the sound elements - recorded sound effects, dialogue, music, ambient noise, etc. and put them together, and maybe adding additional effects or manipulations to each thing that is being mixed together.  Don't forget that when a movie is being made, there are several takes of a single scene - think about cutting a portion of one take where a seagull is cawing, and a portion of another take where it's quiet, and having to make sure that the whole sound is heard, all the while mixing the dialogue, music layers, etc. - this is a very meticulous job which is not an easy one. Musicals and action films tend to be the winners of this category, because there is just so much to mix, and American Sniper is emblematic of Sound Mixing done right.  

Bottom line, American Sniper is a very good film that I recommend seeing.  It deals with complex issues, and Bradley Cooper makes seeing the film worth it.  But if you don't like it, don't shoot me.  

Watch the American Sniper trailer below:

  

Oscars 2015 - Let's Get This Party Started!

Welcome back to the blog!

Last year, I began taking my crazy Oscars obsession to a new level by writing this blog.  I reviewed all of the films nominated (Every. Single. One.), and I had a blast doing it.  You all read, shared, and went on the journey with me.  Was I excited to get going again?  Well, I woke up at 3 a.m., well before the nominations were announced, so, yes, excited is the right word.

This year, the nominee landscape is very different.  There are only two films with 9 nominations each (Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel), and the nomination love is spread around much more than in the past.  Most of the Best Picture nominees have only 5 or 6 nominations total.  This means that I have many many more films to review and not quite enough days to do it in, so I hope you'll forgive me for a handful of days with multiple posts.

The Complete List of Nominees

Let's start with some overall observations, disappointments and controversies from this year's list, and then we'll get into the meat with the film reviews.

First, Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher) was robbed.  The Best Actor field was a tough field, and I've been reading about this tight race for the last two months.  I was hoping that the Academy would pull a Geena Davis (The Accidental Tourist) and nominate him in the Supporting Actor category, even though he was a lead.  (If you recall, Davis won Best Supporting Actress, even though her role was functionally a lead role.)  This fine actor changed the shape of his body and his jaw, altered his walk, and even his voice sounded materially different.  His performance deserves recognition far more than Mark Ruffalo's does (even though he was also superb.)

Second, I'm extremely disappointed for The Lego Movie.  It was a highly original, totally entertaining movie, and absolutely deserving of a nomination.  Everything is NOT awesome when a movie of this caliber gets overlooked.

Third, I can't help but comment on the placement of Whiplash in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.  As you may know, the difference between adapted screenplay and original screenplay is that the former comes from another piece - a poem, a short story, a documentary, a novel and the latter is written purely for the screen.  In this case, in order to raise money to make the movie, the filmmakers produced a short piece from the script as a teaser, and a way to interest investors.  This, says the academy, makes the full length feature an adaptation.  This, in my mind, doesn't really make sense.  But, until they appoint me honorary academy branch executive committee member (my phone has been oddly silent), I'll have to live with their thinking.

So, those are some initial thoughts, now let's spend the next 38 days celebrating the art of storytelling!  I'll see you at the Oscars!

P.S.  I know you'll not want to miss a single review, so be sure to subscribe by google+, yahoo, or by entering your email in the subscribe box.  It's easy, and you won't be sorry!