Enough of Trump! I'd Rather Talk Oscars

We're getting closer to the 2017 Academy Awards, where a non-Broadway musical could win the big prize for the first time in nearly 60 years and some fans fear the show won't be interrupted by another pointless fight between Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel.

I've seen all but one of the Best Picture nominees but I am hoping to see Hacksaw Ridge eventually when it's finally on Redbox along with Manchester By The Sea next week. It's pretty clear La La Land will take the big prize because of its direction and story, and Emma Stone. Her win at the BAFTAs pretty much gave her enough of an edge over Natalie Portman to win.
Viola Davis has Supporting Actress locked down thanks to Fences. I still say she should have won for The Help, but this is her year.
Mahershala Ali, who I first knew from Luke Cage, should get enough to win Supporting Actor, mainly due to his win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. That category has been interesting because Aaron Taylor-Johnson got the Golden Globes but isn't in the Oscars, while Dev Patel won at the BAFTAs for Lion. Patel could upset, but Ali may win out.

Actually of all the films I've seen, Lion had the best story and acting that could give La La Land a run for its money. So could Hidden Figures, the story of some unknown space travel pioneers who finally got their due. Manchester By The Sea has great performances from Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges in a story about a family trying to recover from several tragedies. Moonlight gives an interesting story about an African-American boy dealing with his own sexuality and drug abuse within his family.
Still, feel-good movies always get the edge from the voters. That's why La La Land will take Best Picture, Actress, Director and maybe Original Screenplay along with a few tech awards. Manchester could upset in Original Screenplay.
Adapted Screenplay is a very tricky race, but my guess is Hidden Figures will win as a reward for the story and the cast. I still wish Deadpool was in there, even if it would have lost. Finally giving any comic book movie at the Oscar table is important, especially if it's some of the major awards. The ghost of The Dark Knight is still there.

As I said, Emma Stone will get Best Actress for La La Land over Natalie Portman, mainly due to her win at the BAFTAs. Casey Affleck has been unstoppable, despite Ryan Gosling's charm and ability to learn the piano. He'll at least sing the Best Song winner, "City of Stars."
I also saw Elle with Isabelle Huppert as a rape victim who is determined to find who did it...and even when she does, the story takes a lot of different turns. To be fair, the movie has a different outlook because it was made in France. Also, Huppert's character has a very interesting past, and makes some unusual decisions. It's enough to get a Golden Globe, but that's it.

Best Animation did look like a lock for Zootopia, aka How We Wound Up Electing Trump. With Kubo and the Two Strings winning at the BAFTAs, that movie's story may give it some momentum, but not enough to win.

Let's hope for an entertaining Academy Awards, even if the guys from The Man Show are involved. If there's ever a time for Kimmel to prove he's in the league of Johnny Carson in more ways than one, it's Oscar night.

The Most Depressing Double Feature I Ever Had

OK, the main reason was learning she died.

This happened five minutes after Manchester By The Sea ended at the Century Riverside 12 in Reno. Thanks to some handy discounts I saw this and another movie for less than nine bucks, and basically saw the top contenders for the Oscars in February. I learned about it on my phone, and told a few people who were nearby. I fully expect people to make a return trip to their local theater to see Rogue One just one more time, along with the main Star Wars movies and The Force Awakens. This will be a long week, but this will be the only way such fans, including me, will cope.
To think, I had a chance to go see her when she was at Comic-Con. Then again, I thought she'd last longer than her mom, Debbie Reynolds. At least I have her autograph.

Getting back to Manchester, I wanted to know if Casey Affleck's performance is really a guaranteed award-winner. It''s pretty good, although I also liked Lucas Hedges as the teen who's also a main part of the story.

The movie is about Lee (Affleck), a handyman who maintains several apartments while living in a small basement apartment. He gets news that his brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler), died from heart failure, and that he has to take care of his nephew Patrick, played by Hedges. Lee is very reluctant to do this, mainly because of a shocking tragedy from his past. During the first half, the movie looks at Lee dealing with his brother's death and the new responsibilities while also adding flashbacks to his past, and that tragedy. It's a shocking moment that drives him away from his family and his wife, played by Michelle Williams. Seeing both Lee and Patrick in their younger days, when they were much closer while fishing in Joe's boat, is touching. However, seeing Lee deal with the tragedy is also heart-breaking.
Hedges is also great as a teen who's stressed out by way too many things, from hockey and losing his dad to trying to reconnect with his uncle and how this will affect his life. There's also a scene where he visits his mom (Gretchen Mol) and his new sort-of creepy fiance (Matthew Broderick). Patrick finds his mom via e-mail but another e-mail will upset him. Hedges just might sneak in for Supporting Actor, but may not win.

The story also took Lee and Patrick's relationship to unexpected roads, especially at the end. It's a good decision by writer and director Kenneth Lonergan to have a story where a family tries to recover from tragedies, but also an ending that is honest.

The other movie I saw was the adaptation of August Wilson's classic play, Fences. We can thank Denzel Washington for this, being director and the star. This is basically the same play that wowed Broadway a few years ago, but on a sound stage. It's about a Pittsburgh garbageman in 1956, still bitter over what could have been. He used to be a ball player, but before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. When we first meet Troy, he's talking to his friend Bono over the fact that all garbage truck drivers are white. Troy breaks that color line, but he's still bitter about other things. He argues with his son over whether he should play football, but has a loving relationship with his wife Rose that crumbles when a big secret is revealed.

Washington is realy good as Troy, while Davis just takes her Tony Award-winning performance to the screen and makes it even better. While she's in the Supporting Actress races, people wonder if she could beat Natalie Portman or Emma Stone in Best Actress. It would have been very possible.

From here, I'll be looking forward to Jackie and Hidden Figures over the next few weeks, and the Oscar nominations in a month.

In the meantime, I'll toast Carrie with the screen test that started it all:


Carrie Fisher by andaluska