Knee Jerk Reactions: 88th Academy Awards

I got locked out of my house just moments ago, so I was not able to watch the Academy Awards nominations live. After checking updates on Twitter, I am completely pissed. I did not win $200 gift card to Amazon because my predictions were so off. They were a couple of sneak attack in there.

Too Much Mayo:  Last year no actors of color were nominated in the acting categories. This year was no different. It is not like people of color are not giving standout performances, they are. Which makes the nominations extremely frustrating for me but I am not surprised. A lot of actors I adore got nominated but I was still disgusted by the nominations. I knew that no woman of color were going to get nominated for the acting categories.I was sure Idris Elba would get nominated for Beasts of No Nation but nothing. I knew Will Smith was not going to get nominated and Michael B. Jordan was unlikely but still a possibility. I wish my darling Jason Mitchell picked a nomination for his riveting performance of Eazy E. It would be been an Adrien Brody winning Best Actor surprise. Throughout the award season, Shameik Moore and the fantastic film Dope have been shut out. The Academy had a chance to make history with the nomination of Mya Taylor for Best Supporting Actress, but they did not happen. The whole acting category is a mess to me.
Best Actress:  Jennifer Lawrence is unstoppable. She just bagged her fourth Academy Award nomination in six years.That is insane especially considering she is getting the Anne Hathaway treatment of 2013. Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan picked up nominations for Room and Brooklyn. They are the frontrunners for this category and I do not care which one of them wins. They are both amazing and deserve all the success in the world. If Charlotte Rampling wins I would be happy too. She is amazing and this is her first nomination. What needs to said about Cate? She is acting royalty. 

Best Supporting Actor: Tom Hardy and Mark Ruffalo  were pleasant surprises in the Best Supporting Actor category. They are two of my favorite actors in the game right now and I am always elated when they get recognition. Idris was snubbed and I was hoping Michael Shannon would pick up a nomination. I would have jumped over the moon if Oscar Isaac snuck in there for Ex Machina. I feel that Sylvester Stallone has this one in the bag for Creed.

Best Actor: The only category I got completely right. A lot of acting perfection in this category. I think this is Leo's year. What else does this man need to do to win? What else?  If he does not win I hope Bryan Cranston brings it home. If Bryan does win,  he will be only one award short of the EGOT. Oh no, I think I'm rooting for Bryan now. I am officially a bad 90's kid.

Best Supporting Actress: I am pissed that Kristen Stewart did not get nominated for Clouds of Sils Maria. I knew that with a lack of Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA nomination she was a long shot, but I thought there was a chance. I was hoping my girl Alicia Vikander was going to get a double nomination for her roles in both Ex Machina and The Danish Girl. I am happy that she got nominated for The Danish Girl but I wish it was for Ex Machina instead. I think Jennifer Jason leigh is going to win for The Hateful Eight.

Best Picture: I was campaigning for Straight Outta Compton and Mad Max: Fury Road to get nominated for Best Picture. Unfortunately, I was not successful. Yes, Mad Max got nominated but it was not a victory for me. The Best Picture race is not too much Weisswurst festival. There are few films produced by women that are nominated. A few films about women were also nominated. The Revenant  is a victory for Latino filmmakers. I think it is a race between Spotlight and The Revenant for Best Picture. I would be doing cartwheels if Mad Max wins but I don't think it is going to happen. 

Achievement in Directing: The nominations of George Miller and Alejandro G. Inarritu make me happier than a clam. I am shocked that Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg got snubbed. This makes their Best Picture nominations bittersweet. 

Best Original/ Adapted Screenplay: There is a lot of female screenwriters recognized this year. I have no idea who is going to take the prize in either category. I am happy that Straight Outta Compton, Ex Machina and Inside Out picked up nominations. I have not watched any of the films nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay but I am thrilled at Nick Hornby's nomination for Brooklyn. 

Best Original Song: I am saddened that "See You Again" did not pick up a nomination for Best Original Song. It would have been such a great tribute to Paul. I always get emotional when I hear it.  It definitely should be there instead of the disaster that is "Writings on the Wall". That  song was atrocious and that is the nicest thing I can say about it. I am happy that The Weeknd snuck up in there, I was not expecting that. It not a song the Academy would usually go for it. I feel that this award is going to go to Lady Gaga and she deserves it.

Best Original Score: Ennio Morricone has this in the bag. 

Best Documentary Feature: Yes to Amy and What Happened, Miss Simone? 

Best Animated Feature Film: Inside Out has this category but Anomalisa is a strong contender. Shocked that The Peanuts Movie and The Good Dinosaur did not get nominated. I am happy that Shaun the Sheep Movie got nominated. 

Best Animated Short: Why is "Lava" not nominated? That gem made me cry like a 2 year old.  Rooting for "Sanjay's Super Team". 

Achievement in Production Design/ Costume Design: I am rooting for Mad Max for Production Design and Cinderella for Costume Design. Here are two categories that are flooded by female talents. I just wish more females were recognized in the bigger categories. 

Star Wars: It seems that Star Wars: The Force Awakens was not treated with much respect by the academy. It did pick up a lot of nominations but not in the major categories. 

Consensus: I am still going to watch because Chris Rock is going to kill it. He has so much material just based on the nominations alone. The Oscars are becoming my problematic fave. 

Best Movies of 2015 : Part I

Best Pictures of 2015

Straight Outta Compton

I got something to say... Straight Outta Compton was a triumph.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max felt like an independent blockbuster. It was the best ride I took this entire year. This film was spectacular.

Inside Out

Pixar outdid themselves with this heartwarming instant classic.

Spotlight On

Tangerine

Gritty with career making performances. 

Clouds of Sils Maria

I just adore European films. They're understated and allow their actors to shine in them.  The scenery in this film was breathtaking. 

Nominations are in

Earlier this morning the 85th Academy Awards nominations were announced by host Seth MacFarlane and the lovely Emma Stone. Being a great amateur film critic I got up literally at the crack of dawn  to catch the nominees. There were quite a few surprises this morning.

• Best Director

One of the biggest snubs was in the Best Director category  As you are aware I predicted that both Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow were shoo-ins for this category. These two directors have been the frontrunners along with Steven Spielberg. I was completely floored that they did not pick up a nomination. The two directors that were nominated instead were Michael Haneke for Amour and Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild. I am pleasantly pleased that Mr. Zeitlin was nominated. I always knew that Quentin Tarantino was a bit of a wild card but I was hopeful he would get a nod. David O.Russel got a well deserved nomination in this category for the darling Silver Linings Playbook.

• Best Supporting Actress

One of the biggest surprises in this category was Jacki Weaver picking up nomination for her part in Silver Linings Playbook. I did not even predict her for a wild card but I am extremely pleased that she picked up this nomination. I believe that this award really is between Sally Field and Anne Hathaway. The only reason that none of them would pick up this award is if Silver Linings Playbook does a sweep. It could happen.

• Best Supporting Actor

Leonardo Dicaprio was once again overlooked by the Academy. Which I find to be a complete shame because he was absolutely brilliant in Django Unchained. I am happy that Christoph Waltz got a nomination because he was my wild card.

• Best Actress

I did a great job at predicting the nominees in this category. My wild card pick Quvenzhane Wallis is the youngest nominee in this category. As of right now Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence are the frontrunners in this category. I would not count out Emmanuelle Riva either.

• Best Actor

The only category I had 100% accuracy.  Daniel Day-Lewis is the favorite in this category but I would not count out Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper.

• Best Picture

I was happy to see the majority of my picks getting nominated this morning. The only one that failed to pick up a nomination was Moonrise Kingdom. The Best Foreign Film favorite Amour picked up the final nomination in this category. Sources are suggesting that it will be hard for Argo and Zero Dark Thirty to win in this category because they failed to pick up Best Director nods. If that is the case Lincoln is looking as the shoo-in but I wouldn't be surprised if Silver Linings Playbook wins instead.

• Overall

Besides the snubs in Best Director and Best Supporting Actor category I am pleased with the nominees this year. Lincoln leads the list of with 12 nominations followed by the beautiful Life of Pi with 11 nominations. 

Django Unchained

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington
Directed and Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: 5/5 Unicorns

Set in the South two years before The Civil War, Django Unchained follows the story of a slave( Jamie Foxx) turned bounty hunter who is determine to rescue his wife Broomhilda( Kerry Washington) from the "Candyland" plantation owned by the notorious Calvin Candie( Leonardo DiCaprio). Christoph Waltz portrays the role of Dr. King Schultz the German- born bounty hunter who trains Django.

When I first learned about Django Unchained it was during the "in development" stages on IMDB pro. I watched as they went through a few casting changes and i gave a sigh of relief once it began filming. After three years of anticipation, Django Unchained was everything I dreamt it could be. It was an intense action packed thrill of a ride. There were a few moments that I had to cover my eyes because they were horrifically graphic. Those moments set the tone for the kind of world Django was living in.

Like previous Tarantino efforts the score for Django Unchained was magnificent. My favorite segment was when the theme song for Battle Royale came on. Overall this film was an extremely well written and directed film. Quentin Tarantino is just the man. There were moments you were laughing hysterically,  few WTF moments and tons of gore.

If you an actor, you will appreciate the performances in this film. I have not seen Leonardo DiCaprio portray a character quite like Calvin Candie before. He was an absolute beast, I think this could be his year come award season. Christoph Waltz was incredible as usual. It was a trip to see Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen, the trusted house slave to Master Calvin. I wanted to punch him so hard. His scenes with Leonardo were hilarious. Their banter was impeccable. Django Unchained was in my humble opinion the best film of the year 2012.