Month: February 2019

Oscar Roundup 2019

The 91st Academy Awards are over…The show turned out better than I expected. Not having a host was not a big deal. The show kept moving. It still ran over the 11:00pm hour, but only by a few minutes. There were some highlights and some low-lights…

One glaring moment for me was when Spike Lee accepted his Oscar for “Best Adapted Screenplay” for “BlackKklansman” and proceeded to speak about the shortest month, Black History month and remind us all of the events that took place some 400 years ago. I felt that was not necessary and I moved away from my living room TV until he had concluded…

There were some nice surprises like Regina King winning Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk” I was extremely happy for her and felt that the academy got that right!!

Although “Black Panther” did not win Best Picture it did take home 3 Oscars (Production Design, Original Score and Custom Design) and for that I am very happy. “Vice” fared ok, taking home 1 Oscar for Makeup & Hair Styling.

The big surprise was “Green Book” taking home 3 Oscars including (Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) and of course the coveted prize “Best Picture”). There was a lot of controversy on Social Media about “Green Book” winning “Best Picture”. It was stated that it’s like awarding “Driving Miss Daisy II”.

The predictions were that “Roma” would win Best Picture. “Roma” took home Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography and Best Director.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” took home 4 of the coveted statues, Best Actor(Rami Malek), Sound Editing, Film Editing and Sound Mixing.
“The Favourite” won the Best Actress Oscar (Olivia Colman)
“First Man” took home the Visual Effects Oscar
“A Star is Born” took home the Original Song Oscar
“Spider-Man into the Spider Universe” took home the Animated Feature Oscar

I did not review “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “BlackKklansman”, “Roma”(Netflix), “The Favourite”, “A Star is Born” or “First Man”, but the movies I did see fared very well and once again I did review the Best Picture Winner (Green Book)!!

So on with 2019, let’s hope it’s a better year for movies than 2018!!

Alita: Battle Angel

“Alita: Battle Angel” is a pretty decent science fiction film. The movie will remind you of the Matrix Trilogy.

Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is or where she comes from. She has been “Rebuilt” so to speak by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). Alita doesn’t understand this futuristic world she now lives in. Dr. Ido takes her in and provides a place for Alita to live.
Day by Day Alita ventures out to discover the world she is unfamiliar with. She makes some friends and attempts to live a normal life, but there are people who know what she is and where she came from and they will stop at nothing to destroy her. Dr. Ido attempts to shield Alita from her past, but Alita has other ideas. The story unfolds from there…

The story is moving and very entertaining. The cinematography is awesome. There is a lot of action, suspense and intrigue. “Alita: Battle Angel” is definitely a visual feast.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

What Men Want

Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful Sports Agent in a firm that is primarily made up of men. Ali is constantly being boxed out by her male colleagues. When Ali suddenly gains the power to hear what men are thinking, its game on and the tables are turned and Ali has the chance to sign the NBA’s next biggest star. The story unfolds from there…

There is plenty of comic relief in “What Men Want” but the movie for the most part is nonsense. Taraji P. is great in the movie, but most of the supporting cast was a bit boring. Taraji P. is a strong actor and therefore the supporting cast needs to be strong. Aside from Richard Roundtree, you do not get this combination in “What Men Want”.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!!

Cold Pursuit

Liam Neeson returns in an action packed drama that has some comic relief.

Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a snow remover who works day and night to keep the roads plowed between the mountain towns and the city of Denver. Little does Nels know that his son who works are the local airport as a baggage handler has a drug problem. When Nels son is found dead, things get dicey. The story unfolds from there…

“Cold Pursuit” contains lots of action and intrigue. It’s a good movie with a few dead spots. There is enough going on to keep you interested. At times the movie comes across like a comedy play with some dark moments.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Green Book

I am really late with reviewing “Green Book”. I had not planned to see it, but after it was nominated for several Golden Globes and Oscars, I quickly changed my tune.

So better late than never!!

“Green Book” is very good. I was concerned about the racially motivated scenes, but as it turns out there were not that many and the ones that were shown were played down and a bit mild in comparison to others I have seen in other movies that depict racism in the 1960’s.
The movie was entertaining and watchable. Mahershala Ali is a very fine actor and deserves all of the accolades that come his way. The movie sort of reminded me of “Driving Miss Daisy” but in more modern times.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!