Best Picture Shenanigans: Mad Max, Spotlight, and The Big Short

Alright, since I"m knocking out all these Best Picture movies pretty fast, here's like, three different movie reviews for the price of one. Just kidding, I don't have ads. Maybe I should do that?

Mad Max: Fury Road

This movie is pretty much the best car chase ever. EVER.
Have no idea what's happeneing? That's okay, just know that it's awesome.
I mean, there's a dude with a flamethrower guitar, like for real.
Also, I'm amazed at how Tom Hardy can act with like literally two thirds of his face covered all the time.
Anyway, Mad Max kind of came out of nowhere over the summer. Since everyone was getting pumped about Age of Ultron (and subsequently let down HARD), this movie, after several years of buildup and a cast change (Mel Gibson is ((thankfully)) nowhere to be found), had a lot of stuff riding on it (Terribly sorry about the pun). You've got Tom Hardy in the title role, being awesome.
But the real big deal here is Charlize Thereon as Imperator Furiosa. You know that female action hero that Marvel has refused to release a movie for, or the one that every other movie has turned into a sex kitten? Furiosa is all your dreams come true. She's awesome, she kicks butt, and she's got a great story. That's not even to mention the band of pregnant ladies she's helping escape the citadel.
You've got Nicholas Hoult being crazy too, which he does a good job with.
The film is visually stunning, always exciting, and completely unique.
Will it win Best Picture: Probably not, but hey, if it does, I'll drink to that.


Spotlight

When I went into this movie, I was readying myself for a movie that was going to be hard to watch with lots of A-listers yelling at each other. Thank God that is not the case. Spotlight manages to strike the perfect balance between a watchable movie and an expose' on an awful series of events.
The acting is excellent, very down to Earth, not a lot of showing off just for the sake of it. I especially enjoyed Michael Keaton (who is redeeming himself after Birdman for me). Despite being an all star cast, I actually believed them as all of these normal people.
It's about the Boston Globe reporters tasked with the investigation of allegations of abuse within the Catholic church. Not exactly your usual Friday night fare but it's a beautifully and tastefully done piece that cuts straight to the heart without any excess vanity.
Spotlight is not a melodrama. That is precisely why it works. Absolutely worth seeing.
Will it win Best Picture? Signs point to yes. And I'd be perfectly happy with that.

The Big Short

Just a note: if you're photosensitive, I wouldn't really recommend seeing this movie. The editing is frantic and could cause seizures if you're sensitive to that.
Anyway, on to the movie.
I didn't love this film despite its best efforts. I laughed a couple of times, but most of the time it just felt rather meh.
Christian Bale's character takes up far too much time in this movie for a character that easily could have been developed in two or three scenes. The movie soars whenever Ryan Gosling is on screen, and Steve Carrell is basically playing Michael Scott with anger issues, which can be kind of fun. The ending is effective, but it just takes too long to get there. The pacing is the Achilles tendon of this movie. It's alternately lightning fast and slow as molasses.
I liked the devices they use to explain some of the more complicated economic stuff (i.e. Margot Robbie sipping champagne in a bathtub, Selena Gomez playing poker, Anthony Bourdain cooking stew) but I still felt confused for chunks of the film (my mom did too, so it's not just me being two weeks into AP Econ).
Ultimately, those of you who loved The Wolf of Wall Street will probably either find a kindred spirit or an eager ripoff.  I am somewhere in the middleground on that one.
Will it win Best Picture? Not a chance.

I'll be back in the next couple of days with The Revenant, Carol, The Danish Girl, Room, and whatever else I can squeeze in.

-Randi

Best of 2012 In Cinema

Welp, four months after 2013 has begun, and I'm posting my best-of lists. Here goes.

(These are in no particular order, by the way).

1. The Avengers. I'm pretty sure anyone who regularly reads this blog is tired of me going on about The Avengers, so I'll just stop with that for now. But yeah, best blockbuster of the year, hands down.

2. Argo. Yup. Even Oscar fame has done little to tarnish the reputation of this fantastic little movie. A nail biting, riveting, and altogether triumphant in just about every way, Argo lives up to the hype.

3. Silver Linings Playbook. A dysfunctional movie about dysfunctional people that made my dysfunctional side happy.

4. The Hobbit. Coming back home to Middle Earth after eight years was one of the best homecomings I've had the privilege to be there for. Desolation of Smaug is going to be the most amazing Middle Earth adventure yet.

5. Les Miserables. This also needs no more praise from me seeing as it's all I've talked about for the last two months. Or sang about really.

6. The Hunger Games. I admit it, I am a teenage girl who loooooves the Hunger Games. The action, the acting, the tension. It's all there with Hunger Games, despite a few problems I had with it. Catching Fire can't get here soon enough.

7. The Perks of Being A Wallflower. I fell head over heels in love with this book when I first read it, and I think like the movie even more. More than an adventure into mental illness, and also more than a teen movie. Emma Watson and Ezra Miller are the standouts here, but the rest of the cast does an excellent job as well.

8. Skyfall. Kick butt theme song, kick butt action sequences, witty dialog, and an excellent story. A triumphant return after the lopsided Quantum of Solace. The best Bond movie to date.

9. Beasts of the Southern Wild. A unique take on the urban fantasy genre with an astounding debut performance by then six year old Quevenzahne Wallis. I want to be her when I grow up.

10. Life of Pi. The philosophical journey of a boy named after a French swimming pool and an adult Royal Bengal Tiger, that may or may not in fact be a tiger. Ang Lee's take on Yann Martel's instant classic of a novel is intriguing, visually dazzling, and an extremely memorable adventure. I didn't think I would like this one nearly as much as I did.

There were more, but because I consider myself a film critic, I feel I must submit a top 10 list.


I would like to mention here that I am so so sorry to hear about the death of Roger Ebert. He was an amazing figure in the cinema community whose reviews have always been a pleasure to read. Rest in peace, Mr. Ebert.

-Randi