Being sick is lame
I spent the last week with strep and the stomach flu, so I had the chance to watch several nominated movies - silver lining. I have a LOT left to watch, but I've been making good progress.
First up, I want to talk about American Sniper. I read the book when it came out and thought it was well-written and interesting. Not the best book ever, but entertaining. When I heard they were making a movie about it, I decided I had no interest in seeing it because they were probably going to turn it into some movie like The Hurt Locker where they just constantly talk about how horrible war is and how sad life is for people in the military. I'm not saying that isn't true in a lot of cases, but how many times can you see the same movie with the exact same themes? However, I have decided to see everything that's nominated, so I had to watch it, and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, he had PTSD when he came back, but they dealt with it in such an honest and real way that it wasn't preachy - it was realistic. Bradley Cooper was a great casting choice, and they encompassed a lot of the more gruesome stories from the book in a very cinematic way. Overall, I was impressed. In my opinion, it wasn't nearly as good as The Imitation Game, but I'm glad it was nominated for Best Picture. The nod for Best Actor is a bit of a stretch, but whatever.
Another one I wasn't too excited to see was Selma. As a history major, I am always nervous about biopics, especially about controversial topics like racism. In general, directors and writers tend to leave out the more salacious details of influential peoples' lives to paint them as heroes and almost mythological creatures. Famous leaders are just like the rest of us - flawed. Thankfully, they gave it a shot and tried to show some of the personal issues Dr. King dealt with, including his difficult marriage with his wife - the PG version, but at least they made the attempt. Everyone was so up-in-arms that none of the actors in the film were nominated, but they really shouldn't have been nominated. It was a true ensemble cast, and it wasn't the biography of Dr. King, it was a snapshot into what happened in Selma and how the participants fit together. And to be honest, the actor who played Dr. King didn't give a great portrayal - not only did he get the look wrong, but Dr. King had a very specific timbre to his voice and speech style, and that fell a little flat. Oprah was awesome but I felt the most bad for the people who had to scream hate speech at her - they must feel awful. There were also lots of slow parts in the film - watching Dr. King write a letter for 20 minutes could probably have been cut in half at least.
I watched Foxcatcher and Wild back to back and wasn't really impressed with either one - although I remember more details from each of those films than I do from American Sniper or Selma, so maybe that says something. Steve Carrell did a great job, but I wonder if the only reason he was so good was because of the prosthetics - like watching Jim Carrey in a serious role, it's weird and makes him seem way creepier than maybe his acting was, just because he wasn't making me laugh. I also had a difficult time following the plot and about halfway through I turned to Wikipedia to check on the facts of the story. One plot device they overused was playing music instead of hearing the dialogue - that gets old really quick. And really, I like Channing Tatum as much as the next person (probably a little less, actually), but he was not good. One dimensional and boring. Wild was just two+ hours of watching Reece Witherspoon walk around. The flashbacks came too often and lasted too long, but how else do you tell a story like that? Maybe they shouldn't have made a film out of that book - sometimes translating it to the screen doesn't pan out the way you think it should. And although it seemed like it dragged on forever, the ending came almost too quickly and wrapped up too neatly. In both movies, nothing really happened. You know, except for the Hulk getting shot.
The last movie I watched while potentially dying from strep - that's what it felt like at least - was Gone Girl. I absolutely LOVED the book - I thought it was fresh and interesting and you had no idea what was actually happening and the diary seemed real and it was a cool twist and compelling to read (unlike her other two books which were WAY worse). Unfortunately, like Wild, some books don't translate to film in the way you want them to. This one just seemed like another formulaic thriller, which, if you read the book, it wasn't. Ben Affleck actually did a great job because he was supposed to play a boring non-responsive douche. And that's Ben Affleck. Rosamund Pike was okay, but not Oscar material, in my opinion. It'd be like nominating Jennifer Lopez for that movie when she was in a domestic violence situation and then killed the guy. She was really good in that movie, but not Oscar good. Also, the scene where she kills Neil Patrick Harris was unnecessarily graphic and horrible and I don't remember it being like that in the book. Maybe it was, but seeing it big on the screen like that was vomit-inducing and ridiculous.
I am the most excited to see Whiplash and The Theory of Everything - I'm putting off Birdman as long as possible because it seems like a boring Black Swan. Here's hoping!
First up, I want to talk about American Sniper. I read the book when it came out and thought it was well-written and interesting. Not the best book ever, but entertaining. When I heard they were making a movie about it, I decided I had no interest in seeing it because they were probably going to turn it into some movie like The Hurt Locker where they just constantly talk about how horrible war is and how sad life is for people in the military. I'm not saying that isn't true in a lot of cases, but how many times can you see the same movie with the exact same themes? However, I have decided to see everything that's nominated, so I had to watch it, and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, he had PTSD when he came back, but they dealt with it in such an honest and real way that it wasn't preachy - it was realistic. Bradley Cooper was a great casting choice, and they encompassed a lot of the more gruesome stories from the book in a very cinematic way. Overall, I was impressed. In my opinion, it wasn't nearly as good as The Imitation Game, but I'm glad it was nominated for Best Picture. The nod for Best Actor is a bit of a stretch, but whatever.
Another one I wasn't too excited to see was Selma. As a history major, I am always nervous about biopics, especially about controversial topics like racism. In general, directors and writers tend to leave out the more salacious details of influential peoples' lives to paint them as heroes and almost mythological creatures. Famous leaders are just like the rest of us - flawed. Thankfully, they gave it a shot and tried to show some of the personal issues Dr. King dealt with, including his difficult marriage with his wife - the PG version, but at least they made the attempt. Everyone was so up-in-arms that none of the actors in the film were nominated, but they really shouldn't have been nominated. It was a true ensemble cast, and it wasn't the biography of Dr. King, it was a snapshot into what happened in Selma and how the participants fit together. And to be honest, the actor who played Dr. King didn't give a great portrayal - not only did he get the look wrong, but Dr. King had a very specific timbre to his voice and speech style, and that fell a little flat. Oprah was awesome but I felt the most bad for the people who had to scream hate speech at her - they must feel awful. There were also lots of slow parts in the film - watching Dr. King write a letter for 20 minutes could probably have been cut in half at least.
I watched Foxcatcher and Wild back to back and wasn't really impressed with either one - although I remember more details from each of those films than I do from American Sniper or Selma, so maybe that says something. Steve Carrell did a great job, but I wonder if the only reason he was so good was because of the prosthetics - like watching Jim Carrey in a serious role, it's weird and makes him seem way creepier than maybe his acting was, just because he wasn't making me laugh. I also had a difficult time following the plot and about halfway through I turned to Wikipedia to check on the facts of the story. One plot device they overused was playing music instead of hearing the dialogue - that gets old really quick. And really, I like Channing Tatum as much as the next person (probably a little less, actually), but he was not good. One dimensional and boring. Wild was just two+ hours of watching Reece Witherspoon walk around. The flashbacks came too often and lasted too long, but how else do you tell a story like that? Maybe they shouldn't have made a film out of that book - sometimes translating it to the screen doesn't pan out the way you think it should. And although it seemed like it dragged on forever, the ending came almost too quickly and wrapped up too neatly. In both movies, nothing really happened. You know, except for the Hulk getting shot.
The last movie I watched while potentially dying from strep - that's what it felt like at least - was Gone Girl. I absolutely LOVED the book - I thought it was fresh and interesting and you had no idea what was actually happening and the diary seemed real and it was a cool twist and compelling to read (unlike her other two books which were WAY worse). Unfortunately, like Wild, some books don't translate to film in the way you want them to. This one just seemed like another formulaic thriller, which, if you read the book, it wasn't. Ben Affleck actually did a great job because he was supposed to play a boring non-responsive douche. And that's Ben Affleck. Rosamund Pike was okay, but not Oscar material, in my opinion. It'd be like nominating Jennifer Lopez for that movie when she was in a domestic violence situation and then killed the guy. She was really good in that movie, but not Oscar good. Also, the scene where she kills Neil Patrick Harris was unnecessarily graphic and horrible and I don't remember it being like that in the book. Maybe it was, but seeing it big on the screen like that was vomit-inducing and ridiculous.
I am the most excited to see Whiplash and The Theory of Everything - I'm putting off Birdman as long as possible because it seems like a boring Black Swan. Here's hoping!
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