Oscar Week Movie Reviews

HAPPY OSCAR WEEK, everyone! 

Since my first job after college was at the Oscars, this event will always be near and dear to my heart. I'll be returning to my beloved LA this week to work at it again, so keep an eye out for me on the red carpet. 💃

When I lived in LA and screening options abounded, I made a point to at least see every movie nominated for Best Picture. The past couple years, I've done my best to see as many as possible, but definitely not crossing off 100% anymore. That said, here are my high-level reviews for all the Oscar nominated films I've seen this year (in random order)...

Fences

• Nominated for: 
• Best Picture
• Actor in a Leading Role - Denzel Washington
• Actress in a Supporting Role - Viola Davis
• Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 93% critics / 79% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Troy Maxson, a former star player in the Negro Leagues, lives with his wife Rose and teenage son Cory in Pittsburgh in 1957. Troy is bitter about missing the integration of professional baseball, and his caustic attitudes toward life and race relations taint his relationship with Cory, an aspiring football player.
• My Thoughts: I love Denzel and Viola and their acting was fantastic in this movie and they totally deserve their nominations. That said, I did notttt enjoy this movie. It was way too long and boring and definitely better fit for the stage than the big screen. I honestly couldn't wait for it to be over, and I don't remember the last time I felt that way in a movie. Not a fan. 😝

Hidden Figures

• Nominated for: 
• Best Picture
• Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
• Actress in a Supporting Role - Octavia Spencer
• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 92% critics / 94% audience
• Brief Synopsis: In the early 1960s, as the U.S. seeks to surpass the Soviet Union in the space race, three mathematically and technologically gifted African-American women must cope with racism and sexism while performing vital tasks at NASA's segregated Virginia facilities.
• My Thoughts: This is one of my favorite nominees of the year. Great story, great acting, great costumes. Chris didn't want to go see this one, and even he was surprised by how much he liked it. I would definitely see this one again. 

La La Land

• Nominated for (a record-tying 12 nominations!): 
• Best Picture
• Directing - Damien Chazelle
• Actress in a Leading Role - Emma Stone
• Actor in a Leading Role - Ryan Gosling
• Writing (Original Screenplay)
• Sound Editing
• Sound Mixing
• Music (Original Score)
• Cinematography
• Costume Design
• Production Design
• Film Editing

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 93% critics / 85% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Aspiring actress Mia and jazz pianist Sebastian struggle to realize their dreams in Los Angeles despite the often soul-crushing commercial nature of show business. As they endure rejection and forge unexpected paths to stardom, the young couple also strives to sustain the love they were surprised to find.
• My Thoughts: I had (way too) hiiiiiigh expectations for this movie, and while it didn't absolutely blow me away like I anticipated, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely watch it again. First of all, it's a beautiful love letter to Los Angeles and it included so many places I loved, so it made me super nostalgic for the place I called home for 5.5 years. Second of all, who doesn't love Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone? Third of all, I would bet a significant amount of money that this will win a LOT of things it's nominated for, including Best Picture. 

Moonlight

• Nominated for: 
• Best Picture
• Directing - Barry Jenkins
• Actress in a Supporting Role - Naomie Harris
• Actor in a Supporting Role - Mahershala Ali
• Writing (Adapted Screenplay) McCraney
• Music (Original Score) 
• Film Editing 
• Cinematography

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 98% critics / 86% audience
• Brief Synopsis: As he grows from childhood to adulthood in Miami, a young black man grapples with surviving the poverty and drugs that pervade his neighborhood, establishing his own identity and accepting his sexuality. Under the influences of his drug-addicted mother, a kindly surrogate father and a conflicted best friend, the youth finds his way in life.
• My Thoughts: This is what a lot of people think SHOULD win Best Picture. It's definitely more poignant than La La Land, and especially in today's extra racially sensitive time, more important. All the acting was fantastic and it really was an insightful look into a heartbreaking world so totally different than my own. I don't think I'd want to watch it again, but I would be pleased if it won some Oscars. 

Captain Fantastic

• Nominated for: 
• Actor in a Leading Role - Viggo Mortensen

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 83% critics / 85% audience
• Brief Synopsis: As Ben, Viggo Mortensen portrays a father who has raised his six children in isolation in the Pacific Northwest, but must integrate them into society after his wife's death.
• My Thoughts: I went in to this one almost totally blind - I only knew that Viggo Mortensen was nominated and I think someone had mentioned "it's kind of like 'Little Miss Sunshine.'" Let's just say it was not what I was expecting. Definitely very unique and some really beautiful cinematography, but won't be watching this one again. 

Loving

• Nominated for: 
• Actress in a Leading Role - Ruth Negga

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 89% critics / 77% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Ruth Negga portrays Mildred, an African-American woman whose love for Richard, her white husband, winds up changing laws prohibiting interracial marriages in the United States.
• My Thoughts: This one was beautiful and poignant and eye-opening. I was bracing myself for it be super intensely depressing, but it honestly more motivational and less sad than I anticipated. In all the insane political craziness that's happening right now, it was kind of like a beautiful info-mercial for the ACLU. Also, after watching this movie, I legit asked Chris, "Can we move to the country?" (He said no). 

Jackie

• Nominated for: 
• Actress in a Leading Role - Natalie Portman
• Costume Design
• Music (Original Score) 

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 89% critics / 67% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Jackie is a searing and intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, then Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman). Jackie places us in her world during the days immediately following her husband's assassination. Known for her extraordinary dignity and poise, here we see a psychological portrait of the First Lady as she struggles to maintain her husband's legacy and the world of "Camelot" that they created and loved so well.
• My Thoughts: I incorrectly thought this movie was going to go more in depth to Jackie and JFK's history and relationship, so was a bit surprise when the whole movie really just covered about a week following the assassination. That said, it was a really interesting and insightful view at the stages of grief Jackie went through following that horrific event. Natalie Portman's acting was amazing and powerful and the friends I saw this with cried several times. (Not me because I'm a monster who hasn't really cried in a movie since Homeward Bound when I was 9 yrs old). I've seen 4/5 of the Best Actress nominees' movies, and I would def be okay if homegirl won for this performance.

Florence Foster Jenkins

• Nominated for: 
• Actress in a Leading Role - Meryl Streep (for a record breaking *20th* nomination!!)
• Costume Design

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 87% critics / 70% audience
• Brief Synopsis: A wealthy New York heiress (Meryl Streep) attempts to become an opera singer despite her horrible singing voice. Hugh Grant and Rebecca Ferguson co-star in this biopic directed by Stephen Frears.
• My Thoughts: You know I LOVE my girl Meryl (and will never change my FB profile pic from this fateful 2010 accidental photobomb). Her acting was fantastic as per usual, but this movie overall was pretty boring / uneventful. Definitely glad I rented this one instead of seeing it in the theaters. 

Zootopia

• Nominated for: 
• Animated Feature Film

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 98% critics / 92% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Feisty rabbit Judy Hopps is a rookie cop in the city of Zootopia, which is inhabited by 64 different species of mammals. While investigating a missing-persons case, Judy partners with conman fox Nick Wilde, and their relationship challenges their assumptions about friendship between those traditionally regarded as predator and prey.
• My Thoughts: I saw this many months ago, so I don't remember a ton of specifics other than this was a REALLY good animated movie with very timely themes about prejudice and stereotyping and I think it should win. 

Moana

• Nominated for: 
• Animated Feature Film
• Best Original Song

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 95% critics / 90% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Teenager Moana has always felt drawn to the ocean, despite her father's dictate that no one on their Polynesian island is to go beyond its encircling reef. When danger threatens her home, Moana searches for Maui, a mischievous demigod, who becomes an unlikely ally as she matures into the hero her people need.
• My Thoughts: This movie was pretty good, but not as good as Zootopia, in my opinion. It made me want to go on a tropical vacay, stat. The song that's nominated is legit and gets stuck in my head semi-regularly. 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

• Nominated for: 
• Costume Design
• Production Design

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 73% critics / 81% audience
• Brief Synopsis: In 1926, British wizard Newt Scamander arrives in New York City with his collection of unusual magical beasts. Because of the tumultuous relationship between magical and non-magical people in America, Newt finds himself embroiled in a war between factions seeking either to destroy magic or make it the law of the land.
• My Thoughts: It's no Harry Potter... 😏

OJ: Made In America

• Nominated for: 
• Documentary Feature

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 100% critics / 97% audience
• Brief Synopsis: The turbulent relations between the races in Los Angeles throughout the 20th century had a huge impact on the life of football star O.J. Simpson. After his NFL career, Simpson became an actor, but it was his trial for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, that revealed his complex standing in the black and white communities.
• My Thoughts: SO GLAD THIS IS NOMINATED. I've been v into true crime stories the past few months, so I watched this after watching the People Vs. OJ Simpson, and it is so good. Highly recommend. 

Sully

• Nominated for: 
• Sound Editing

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 85% critics / 85% audience
• Brief Synopsis: On January 15, 2009, the engines of US Airways flight 1549 are disabled by bird strikes shortly after takeoff, forcing pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to land the plane in the Hudson River. Suspecting pilot error, the NTSB investigates the unconventional landing, compelling Sully to prove that his actions were justified.
• My Thoughts: I'm kind of surprised this didn't get nominated for a few more categories. I enjoyed this movie a lot (Tom Hanks is the best) even though it made me anxious to fly on a plane and I thought it ended too abruptly. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

• Nominated for: 
• Sound Mixing
• Visual Effects

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 85% critics / 88% audience
• Brief Synopsis: Jyn Erso, a member of the Rebel Alliance, has grown up under the stigma of her scientist father having helped the Empire design the Death Star. Jyn's father was kidnapped, however, and Jyn uses knowledge sent by him to lead a group of fighters plotting to steal the fearsome weapon's schematics.
• My Thoughts: I married into an extreme Star Wars fandom, so I found myself at the theater on opening night for this one, despite having never seen another Star Wars movie the full way through before. (Not my thing, sorryyyyy.) Going in completely blind, I was pleased that I could still follow the story (for the most part) and enjoy the movie. 

The Lobster

• Nominated for: 
• Writing (Original Screenplay)

• Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 89% critics / 64% audience
• Brief Synopsis: David lives in a future society in which being part of a couple is mandatory, and single people are given 45 days to find a mate or else be turned into the animal of their choosing. 
• My Thoughts: This was very original, so deserving of this nomination. It was a dark, thought-provoking view on relationships that I'm glad I saw but don't really want to ever watch again. 

OKAY I THINK THAT'S IT. (👏👏👏 if you actually made it through this marathon blog post). May the best movies win!

xoxo, 

Annie.