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The Shape Of Water
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
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Phantom Thread
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A Quiet Place
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Thoroughbreds
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Leave No Trace
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In The Fade
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Cold War
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Widows
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Wildlife
Posts Tagged ‘Phantom Thread’
My Top Ten Favourite Movies 2018
Posted in Lists and Top 10’s, Movie Blog, tagged A Quiet Place, Cold War, In The Fade, Leave No Trace, Phantom Thread, The Shape of Water, Thoroughbreds, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Widows, Wildlife on December 25, 2018| 3 Comments »
Best Dressed Characters 2018 Movies?
Posted in Movie Blog, tagged A Simple Favor, Best Dressed Characters 2018 Movies, Black Pantha, Dominika Egorova, Emily Nelson, Lou, Ocean's Eight, Phantom Thread, Red Sparrow, Reynolds Woodcock, wakanda on October 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Emily Nelson – A Simple Favor
Reynolds Woodcock – Phantom Thread
Lou – Ocean’s Eight
Dominika Egorova – Red Sparrow
Anyone from Wakanda – Black Pantha
Best Achievement in Directing
Posted in Oscars & Awards, tagged Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk, Get Out, Greta Gerwig, Guillermo Del Toro, Jordan Peele, Lady Bird, Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread, The Shape of Water on March 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »
With all the talk of the race for the best picture, the more interesting Best Director category has been slightly overshadowed. One thing that is certain, whoever wins it will be there first Oscar. Three of them have previous nominations, only one, Paul Thomas Anderson for directing.
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk. He is also nominated for Best Picture for Dunkirk. His previous nominations are; Best Original Screenplay for Memento (2000) and Best Picture for Inception (2010).
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird – Nominated for her solo directorial début, Lady Bird (she co-directed Nights and Weekends (2008) with Joe Swanberg), Gerwig is also nominated for Best Original Screenplay but not for Best Picture (Lady Bird is nominated for Best Picture but Gerwig is not one of the named producers).
Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water – Amazingly, del Toro has never won an Oscar! His only previous nomination was for Original Screenplay for Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). He is also nominated for The Shape of Water in the Best Picture and Original Screenplay categories.
Jordan Peele – Get Out – Get out is Peele’s début as director, he is nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. They are his first nominations.
Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread – The veteran of the group, he is nominated for Phantom Thread in the Best Picture category as well as for best director. His previous nominations are: Best Adapted Screenplay for Inherent Vice (2014), Best Picture, Best Director and Adapted Screenplay for There Will Be Blood (2007), Best Original Screenplay for Magnolia (1999) and Boogie Nights (1997).
Who will win? My choice would be Guillermo del Toro but I would be happy to see any of them win, they deserve to for different reasons.
Movie of the Month: February 2018
Posted in Movie Of The Month, tagged Black Panther, Dark River, Fifty Shades Freed, Game Night, I Tonya, Lady Bird, Loveless, Phantom Thread, Roman J Israel Esq on March 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Of the nine movies I have seen this month five are eligible for this year’s Oscars , all five are nominated. Fifty Shades Freed is eligible for next year’s Oscars, it is unlikely to feature, but it does have eight Razzie nominations. None of this matters, what really matters is the winner of my my movie of the month, here are the contenders:
Phantom Thread – I have a strange relationship with the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, I like most of them but don’t love any of them. I have seen all of his films, but have only seen one or two of them for a second time. Phantom Thread is one of his most restrained and constrained movies, that is what is so great about it. Daniel Day-Lewis is as brilliant as you would expect, he is however totally overshadowed by Lesley Manville and Vicky Krieps. The best thing about it: Jonny Greenwood’s score.
Roman J Israel, Esq – A strange film about the inadequacies of the overburdened American legal system. The film is good, Denzel Washington’s Oscar nominated performance is outstanding.
I, Tonya – The title card tells us “based on irony-free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly”. This tells you as much as you need to know about the movie. The story is so bonkers, if it weren’t a true story you would dismiss it as unbelievable! Margot Robbie is amazing, Allison Janney is even better, but the real star is the editing, both in the format of the film, and its composition.
Loveless – On the surface, this is film about a young boy, unwanted by his parents who goes missing. This all happens in the first couple of scenes, most of the film deals with the parents search, but there is far more going on. Reminiscent of Michael Haneke in both it’s Stark depiction, and it’s stunning but measured photography. The full metaphor is probably lost on me as an outsider but I certainly got a sense of a society whose glossy veneer is collapsing or rotting from within, it is after all set in Putin’s Russia! Hopelessly bleak and full of despair, I loved it but don’t know many people I would recommend it to.
Black Panther – So much has been said about Black Panther, possibly the most significant is the quality of the villains, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klae, the over the top moustache twirling comic villain and Michael B. Jordan as the more interesting and nuanced Erik Killmonger (with a name like that, he was never going to be a hero!). The supporting cast is fantastic, all the characters played by Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, and Daniel Kaluuya were interesting enough that they could have had their own movie. Angela Bassett is sadly underused. Not as original or as fun as Thor Ragnarok, but it certainly has enough going on to please Marvel fans and for those who are new to the series. Importantly, It also works as a standalone film.
Fifty Shades Freed – On a positive note, the film is competently made. The acting isn’t as wooden as the previous film. Dakota Johnson isn’t terrible in the lead. That is about all I can say on a positive note! The downside; to call the plot wafer thin would be an understatement. The story is poorly told at best. The most damming thing about the film is how dull and boring it is. For a film that markets itself as a kinky BDSM movie, the only pornographic thing about it is the gratuitous displays of wealth.
Lady Bird – Writer, actress and darling of the indie scene Greta Gerwig turns her hand to directing; she is clearly a natural. Coming of age drama told with an easy and style that elevates it above its genre. Saoirse Ronan is brilliant in the lead as are Tracy Letts and Laurie Metcalf as her parents, that latter picking up a well deserved Oscar nomination. The brilliance of the storytelling is that most viewers will see something of themselves in at least one of the characters. I look forward to what Greta Gerwig does next whichever side of the camera she decides to work on.
Dark River – A woman returns home to the family farm for the first time in fifteen years following the death of her farther. All the bleakness and despair of God’s Own Country without the hope. Ruth Wilson is brilliant as you would expect.
Game Night – Surprisingly good comedy: The trailer for Game Night is terrible, on the strength, or weakness to be precise, I nearly didn’t bother watching the movie. The movie however is extremely funny and well worth a look. Its greatest strength is the combination of the script and the performances. No matter how absurd the story gets Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and especially Jesse Plemons play it straight and deadpan. Like all the best comedies, it doesn’t hide from the aforementioned absurdity, it embraces it.
I, Tonya, Loveless, Lady Bird, Dark River and Black Panther are all brilliant, and could have been winners in previous months. Game Night was the most presently surprising movies this month, Other movies have won for less. The clear winner of movie of the month is: Phantom Thread
Oscar Voting
Posted in Movie Blog, Oscars & Awards, tagged Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri on February 22, 2018| 1 Comment »
In my last article I commented, somewhat flippantly that many Oscar members vote for films they haven’t seen. Is this true? I suspect it is but cannot be sure. Assuming I am correct, I wondered how people would vote for movies they hadn’t seen. They could only choose by reputation, with this in mind I asked a few friends and colleagues. I gave the name of a couple of nominated movies each, and asked what they know about them. Here are a few real comments, one per movie:
I want to see that, it’s a sort of comedy horror but with black people.
Not another war movie.
The trailer looks a bit boring. Is it supposed to be a horror?
The one with the sweary woman and the raciest cop.
Is that the one about the woman and a fish man? Weird!
Another comedy about a girl who doesn’t like her mom… and her teacher.
Never heard of it, oh, Is that the Churchill movie, why don’t they just call it Churchill.
Is that the gay one?
Oh, I like Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. What’s it about.
I think The Post will pick up the most votes from this type of voter! The voting system for the foreign language movie makes a lot more sense!
Oscar – My Best Picture Ballot 2018 – Redux
Posted in Movie Blog, Oscars & Awards, tagged best picture, Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Oscar, Phantom Thread, The Post, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri on February 19, 2018| 4 Comments »
I have now seen Lady Bird so have included it in my ballot. As the Oscars are happening in two days, I don’t think I will See Call Me by Your Name before the ceremony.
* * *
The nominees for the 90th Academy Awards were announced about a month ago, voting is about to start in preparation for the ceremony on Sunday, March 4, 2018. The nominees for best picture are:
Call Me by Your Name – Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, and Marco Morabito
Darkest Hour – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten, and Douglas Urbanski
Dunkirk – Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan
Get Out – Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., and Jordan Peele
Lady Bird – Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Evelyn O’Neill
Phantom Thread – JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi
The Post – Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg, and Kristie Macosko Krieger
The Shape of Water – Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Martin McDonagh
Since 2009, the Academy has allowed more than five films in the best picture category. At the same time they changed the way this category is voted for. Unlike the other categories that appear on ballet as a simple tick box, the Best Picture category has a larger box with a space to rank films in order of preference. The system known as instant-runoff voting, the idea being that the eventual winner is the film preferred by the widest consensus of voters.
When counted, if a film receives more than half the votes, it is declared the winner. If there isn’t a winner, the film with the lowest number of first-choice votes is removed from the ballot. All ballots that places this film at number one are redistributed using the second placed film on the ballot. This process is continued until there is a clear winner.
I have not received my ballot paper, possibly something to do with not being an academy member. Were I able to vote, this is my ranking for the best picture nominees:
- The Shape of Water
- Get Out
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Dunkirk
- Phantom Thread
- Lady Bird
- The Post
- Darkest Hour
Not Ranked*
- Call Me by Your Name
*I haven’t ranked this film as I haven’t seen it. Will the actual voters stick to films they have actually seen, or even better, watch all the nominated films.