Little Moment, Big Meaning: The Tragedy of Davy from The Alamo (2004)

There are some historical topics that keep coming up in films. The Normandy Invasion, the crime waves of the 1920s and 30s, and the Battle of the Alamo. It's actually kind of amazing how this one historical event has been adapted and talked about more than others. There are so many that there's even a book that talks about it.

By the way, yes, I do have a copy of this book.

In 2004, we got the Ron Howard produced The Alamo (dir. John Lee Hancock) which to date is probably the most accurate version to date. 

This obviously didn't sit well with some since this movie was a bomb at the box office and the critics didn't show favor towards it. 

My guess for that is a lot of people wanted it to be like John Wayne's version where there's a ton of men in raccoon skin caps and Crockett goes down in, I guess you could say, a literal blaze of glory. 

I would give a spoiler warning but, for one thing, this movie is nearly 60 years old and its based on an event that I think most people know about already.

Same thing with the '04 film. That's the closest to a spoiler warning you're going to get.  

With the '04 film, we see our heroes acting uncertain about themselves and not always in the best light. The main highlight of this is with Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of Crockett. 

In the film, we see Thornton's version of David Crockett (he prefers that according to his friend and fellow volunteer Micajah Autry) able to put on his "King of the Wild Frontier" persona for the masses. But there's something eating away at him. 

This scene basically summarizes the tragedy of David Crockett. He was a simple man from Tennessee who wanted a fresh start on things but could never escape it. At least in this film. 

Sure, he's still a people-person and enjoys a good chat. But you get a sense that he's tired putting on that dime store version of himself.

The first time we see him in the movie is during a big party where there's also a show based around the legendary tales of Crockett starring an actor named James Hackett - played by the late Lynn Mathis in what would be his last feature film. 

As the actor takes the stage he acknowledges Crockett's presence by saying "Good evening, Mr. Crockett." Crockett in return, playfully says, "Good evening, Mr. Crockett." A foreshadow to how the actual Crockett won't escape his folk hero status. 

Even when he arrives in San Antonio he almost instantly gets put on the stage to chat and tell stories. He's asked for autographs and asked to recite lines from the aforementioned show that he had no involvement with. 

Throughout the film, many shots almost give scenes at the Alamoa an almost stage-like vibe. This could possibly symbolize how the fort basically became the center stage for the Texas Revolution and a major symbol for the state. 

Probably the biggest indication of this is during the final stand in the chapel when it's just Crockett and four other defenders. 

At this point, Crockett and others have been trapped in the fort for 13 days and are exhausted and scared. Crockett, in particular, has a very uncertain look on his face but he looks down and sees the son of fellow defender Gregorio Esparza looking up at him. He looks at him almost like he wants Crockett to save them. So, he puts on his hero face one more time in this final moment. 

But that was not his final moment. Later we see Crockett as the only surviving garrison member and even the last moments of his life just before his execution he's put on a stage. In those final moments, he caves in and becomes gives in to what people expect. He knows that he can't escape and that he never could escape.

Personally, I've grown to really appreciate this film and it truly is a shame that this movie did so poorly. It's stuff like this that made me like it more. I highly recommend this film, especially if you're a history buff - this may be the closest we get to a completely historically accurate Alamo film. 

Feel free to share your thoughts and the article as well.

Follow me on Twitter @DocJohn90. 

30 Before 30 Bucket List

30 BEFORE I’M 30 BUCKET LIST

I turned 28 back in March. Which means I'm only two years away from going, "Oh dear God! I'm 30-years-old! What the hell have I done with my life?!"

A friend of mine, Kaity, actually turned 30 not too long ago and on her blog she wrote a blog checking off her '30 Before 30' list. She then followed it up with a '32 Before 32' list. Those lists can be seen at her blog (Bee)autiful Blessings. Check it out and support her.

These inspired me to come up with my own list. I know this is weird to post in a movie-related blog but I wanted to have it listed at a place where I can keep track of it - and people can probably hold me accountable in a way. But there are movie related things in it. So, I think we're good. 

Here we go:

1. Finish a screenplay/book/story idea of some kind. Some piece of writing that’s not a blog post or something related to my daytime job. At least get it done. Submitting it is a bonus. I’ve sat on these ideas for too long and I need to step up and get it done.

2. Visit The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas and if possible The Alamo Village in Bracketville, Texas. The Alamo has been something I’ve been fascinated with ever since I was kid and has, honestly, been an influence on several elements of my life. I’m not blinded by the romanticism of it but its still an interesting topic to me. Now, I know the Alamo Village is no longer in operation but it is still there.

3. Travel to New York City and/or Los Angeles. I’ve lived on this Earth for 28 years and I’ve never been to NYC and California. Hopefully I’ll visit one of these by the end of the year.

4. Do some volunteer work. Because I feel like I need to give back to people in some form.

5. Raise money for charities. I want to channel my frustration into something positive. The plan is to make a $5 donation every time I find myself getting incredibly angry about something instead of posting about it – 95% of the time it’ll be something political related. I'll donate $10 if I end up posting something angry. Consider this as a swear jar of sorts.

6. Do something that involves public speaking. Auditioning for a play, speaking somewhere, anything like that.

7. Start a Patreon page for this blog. But before that… see number 8.

8. Be more active in my blog writing. Obvious point is obvious. In regards to Patreon, I want to be able to have a consistent body of work. And no, this post will not count since it’s not a movie review or anything similar.

9. Watch all movies that won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Director, Acting, and Writing. I’ll try to watch as many of the other nominees as well. NOTE: I will not be watching the movies of Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Kevin Spacey and I’m sure there may be others I’ll skip. I’m sure you can figure out why I’m leaving them out.

10. Watch at least half of the movies nominated for similar categories at the Razzies. I decided half because I must keep my sanity somehow.

11. Read the books I own but haven’t read yet. I’m one of those guys who goes into a bookstore and pretty much walks around going, “that looks good, that looks good, that looks good” and I’ll leave with a stack of books. Its especially bad if it’s a used bookstore.

12. Watch the movies I own but haven’t watched yet. See number eleven.

13. Watch (in some cases listen to) all Doctor Who episode. I’ve already started but I want to watch it from beginning to the current day. I’d also like to do a retrospective on it.

14. Take up a fitness class. Yoga, boxing, something. I want to get more active and something like this could help me out.

15. Organize my home office. I should probably have an environment fit to do work and writing.

16. Practice video editing. I’ve been wanting to do the reviews in a video format in some way or talk about other things in this format.

17. Bake at least five dishes featured in the Great British Bake Off. I love the show and if they can make some great looking stuff then I can too. I may focus on the technical challenges since those will help me with baking skills in general.

18. Make half of the recipes featured in Eat What You Watch by Andrew Rea (Binging With Babish) and A Taste of Cowboy by Kent Rollins. I love these books and the personalities behind them. If you like cooking/food you should add these to your collection. EDIT: I've decided to include recipes from Babish's website because there's a lot more in there that I'd like to make.

19. Get under 200 pounds. I’m around 235 pounds right now and I’m so damn close. I know I’ll never look like Chris Evans or Chris Pratt or Chris Pine, I sure as hell won’t look Chris Hemsworth (man, there are a lot of famous Chris’ right now) but I want to lose my gut.

20. Make a voice acting demo. I’ve always enjoyed doing voices so it’d be cool to make one.

21. Walk three different hiking trails. This is just to get myself more active.

22. Read my Great-Uncle’s service letters. My Great-Uncle died long before I was born. He suffered from PTSD and killed himself. All we really have are the letters he sent to my Great-Grandmother during his service in the Korean War. I want to read them because I want to see what was going on with him.  And to just get an idea of who he was.

23. Visit the statues dedicated to Mr. Rogers and Jim Henson and get a photo with it. These are two men I greatly admire and have influenced me greatly. This is just a small form of me paying respect to them.

24. Go see three live shows. I’ve only been to a handful of live shows in my life. I feel like that shouldn’t be so.

25. Frame my pictures and posters. I’ve collected a bunch of posters and pictures (and taken a bunch of them), so I should probably get them framed and mounted.

26. Learns songs to play on guitar, mandolin and ukulele. I’ve had these instruments for years and outside of a few chords I want to at least have a song memorized so I can play on the fly. A song that’s not Free Fallin’ (no disrespect to Tom Petty).

27. Organize and catalog my books and movies. At this point, my collections are basically scattered about in my house. I’m sure you can find a DVD in my sock drawer.

28. Paint a Bob Ross-style painting. This is my small way of paying tribute to the man who gave us happy clouds and reminded us that we don't make mistakes we just have happy accidents.

29. Learn and make different cocktails. I think Cocktail Chemistry will help me out with that.

30. Try ten new restaurants. I stole this one from my friend Kaity’s 32 before 32 list. I love food and I’m always looking for great local restaurants.

So, there it is. I'm hoping to complete at least half of these. 

Wish me luck!

SPOILER FILLED Avengers: Infinity War Rambling

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
D: Anthony and Joe Russo
W: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely. Based on The Avengers by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
S: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt. 

This review will feature so many spoilers! I can't properly talk about this movie without spoiling it.

Also, this isn't so much a review as it is me rambling. Sorry about that.

If you don't want to be spoiled, here's my review in a nutshell: Good movie, can't wait for the next Avengers movie, 4/5. Go see it.

Spoilers begin now. This is your final warning.

Soooooooooooo.... that movie was emotionally distressing. It's good but to quote Homestar Runner, "I can't handle it!"

But before I talk about the assault on my emotional state, let's address a criticism that the movie has - "It just drops the characters in without explaining." In that, they just introduce a scene or characters without a proper introduction or giving the setup.

Um... okay?

Did these people also criticize Return of the Jedi for the same reason?
"They don't explain what a Jedi is or why Han Solo was frozen in carbonite."

I mean, yes, every film should be able to hold up on its own but when a movie is AN OBVIOUS SEQUEL to something. Does this look like a jumping on point?

This is basically the big event comic of this cinematic universe. This is the amalgamation of the of the past ten years and the creative team did a pretty damn good job at handling all these characters and storylines.

Everything has led to this moment. Every story has contributed to understanding these characters and what's at stake for them and why they do what they do.

Now, many of these characters have their own compelling story but the one who basically steals the show - THANOS!

It's such a relief that the character is interesting because, well, as big of an MCU fan I am, I'm willing to admit their villains haven't been very interesting. There have been good ones but a lot of them have been just... well, evil. Though they have been getting better recently.

As for Thanos... he basically thinks he's the hero.

No, seriously. When we first saw Thanos (Josh Brolin) I'm sure a majority of us thought that he was just be "I'm a God! You're all ants to me!" kind of villain. But in this movie he believes that his mission is noble and just. He believes that he is a martyr.

There are points in the movie where he acts cocky in his fights but that's the same attitude that a hero might have. There's even a scene where he comforts Scarlett Witch after she had to kill Vision - that's explained below.

His plan? End the hunger and suffering in the world by wiping out half of the universe's population which he believes will re-balance things. And he succeeds. But more on that in a bit.

Now, before the movie, he already possessed the Power Stone and gains the others in films. He first gets the Space Stone from the Tesseract on the ship carrying the remaining Asgardians from Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and in the process kills Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) - by the way, this happens at the very beginning of the film. Just in case you were wondering if they were playing around.

Sidenote: where the hell is Valkyrie and Korg? There better be a good answer!

Next, he gets the Reality Stone, held by the Collector (Benicio Del Toro) and then he gains the Soul Stone by... sacrificing his adopted daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Yeah, that's when you realize that not only is he completely serious about getting the Stones but he is also will sacrifice things he legitimately loves. You really get a sense that killing Gamora to get the Soul Stone was tough and soul-crushing for him (which is probably the point).

Then the Time Stone which was being held by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). But instead of him taking it from them, Strange gives it up. More on that later.

Finally, the Mind Stone which is held by Vision (Paul Bettany). Vision and a bunch of the other Avengers took him to Wakanda to try and get it extract it so they could destroy the stone before Thanos could arrive but it didn't work. So, Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) who was also Vision's love interest was the only one who had the power to destroy it and in the process killed him.

Unfortunately, Thanos reversed it and killed Vision to take the Stone. And so, he's able to accomplish his mission... half the universe is decimated. Including several of our heroes: Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Doctor Strange, Scarlett Witch, Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and all the Guardians except Rocket. Each one of these deaths mean something.

This was pretty much me after the movie.

Bucky and Falcon's deaths were definitely emotional blows to Captain America (Chris Evans). Bucky was Cap's childhood friend and he finally got him back after his brain control and Falcon was one of Cap's first real friends outside of the Avengers and was an emotional support for him. It's also obvious that the latter hit War Machine (Don Cheadle) too given how he calls out for him during the deaths.

Black Panther's death means a big blow to the nation of Wakanda and all his family and friends. Especially given after all the drama in Panther's own movie.

Scarlet Witch was obvious one of the few whose power could stop Thanos. Also, during her death, she almost seemed to embrace. Maybe she felt guilt and thought she let people down - even though it's not her fault.

The Guardians are obviously going to be a blow to Rocket whose arc in the previous Guardians movie was learning to open and accept that he's apart of a group now that cares about him.

And then there's Spider-Man... oh dear... that was a toughy. The main reason: he's a kid. Okay, yeah he's a teenager which isn't the same but in that group, he is the kid. His response is crying and saying "I don't want to die." That is the most natural response.

But there's another reason why Spidey's death has a big impact. It's yet another slice of guilt for Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Iron Man's main motivation throughout the movies has been guilt. Guilt over the weapons he made being used by terrorists, his actions have led to the death of multiple civilians and now... he may feel responsible for basically dragging this kid into the Avengers lifestyle which leads to his death.

As for Strange, well, before he dies he says "it had to be done". And before his group of Avengers/Guardians fights Thanos, he looks into all possible outcomes and they only have one winning outcome. Him giving up the Time Stone was half the population dying was the only way that would result in a win.

So yeah, this movie does not play around. I found myself turning into Al Capone from The Untouchables (1987).

But outside of the emotional gut punches the movie delivered, It had some great and creative action, well-done pacing, and we got to see some great character interactions I'm sure many of us have been dying to see. 

Now we just have to wait another year to see how it all ends... I don't know how I'm going to make it. 

But chances are if you're reading this, you've already seen it. If you haven't... well, you should still go and see it. 

I'll probably update this later with where this ranks in the MCU. And yeah, I know this isn't my most comprehensive review ever. Next time I'll be a bit more comprehensive and collected. 

Thanks for reading. Shares your own thoughts and share the article. 

Also, follow me on Twitter @DocJohn90. 

ISLE OF DOGS (2018) Review

ISLE OF DOGS (2018)

D: Wes Anderson

W: Wes Anderson. Story by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Kunichi Nomura, and Jason Schwartzman.

S: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Nomura, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Harvey Keitel, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Akira Ito, Akira Takayama, F. Murray Abraham, Yojiro Noda, Mari Natsuki, Yoko Ono, and Frank Wood. 

After taking the last few months off from watching newer releases (with Black Panther as an exception) I'm back to give my thoughts on Wes Anderson's second animated film Isle of Dogs.

Set in the not too distant future, in a dystopic Japan a young boy named Atari (voiced by Koyu Rankin) goes to an island designated for all dogs of Japan after a dog flu virus spread. He goes there to find his dog Spots (voiced by Liev Schreiber). During his journey, he's joined by former housepets Rex, King, Boss and Duke (voiced by Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, and Jeff Goldblum, respectively) and stray dog Chief (voiced by Bryan Cranston).

What can be said about Anderson that hasn't already been said about him? I don't think there's much else. What is it about him that makes him so engaging? It's surprisingly hard to narrow that down as well. Hell, his 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel was one of my favorites of that year. It might even top the list. But when it's hard to say why. Never the less, I'm going to talk about this movie.

Right off the bat, I can tell you the movie is well told, well acted, and has some stunning production values but that's to be expected with his movies.

I do want to highlight the animation of this movie. Anderson and his team did a fantastic job at the stop-motion effects. Given how long it took them to do a few seconds of a scene it should really be commended that they took the time to add little details. When the five main dogs are introduced they do a close up on them, you can see some of their hair blowing in the wind. That's dedication. Minor spoiler here, but there's even a scene where they animate a kidney transplant. Yes, seriously. They could've easily had that part be implied off camera but no. They went ahead and animated it.

I also love how each dog has a unique design to them. Each dog is given certain details that can indicate what their previous lives were. Stuff like Boss wearing a baseball jersey and having a baseball-shaped dog tag who was a baseball team's mascot. Or King having kind of a mustache which may have helped him stand out when he was a spokesman for dog food. With Chief, there are some very subtle details that foreshadow who he is.

According to an article from Zack Sharf of Indiewire, Anderson said some inspirations for this movie included the works of Akira Kurosawa and Rankin Bass claymation specials. That has to be one of the most bizarre combinations ever. But he made it works.

Sadly, my knowledge of Kurosawa's work is very minimal compared to other critics. Though just from what I've seen of his work, this story is definitely more optimistic than some of his work. For example, Ran (1985) his adaptation of William Shakespeare's King Lear. I won't spoil it here but, man oh man, that movie is bleak!

Speaking of Ran, according to an analysis by Kyle Kallgren of the Youtube channel KyleKallgrenBHH, Kurosawa was also a painter and painted his storyboards. I wouldn't be surprised a part of that was also an influence on the film's style. By the way, if you're not already, you should totally subscribe to Kyle's channel.

If I were to guess though, one might say the character of Chief is akin to a character Toshiro Mifune might play. A bitter loner who lived most of his life in isolation but eventually grows attached to his mission. I could be wrong. I think the coming weeks will consist of me rewatching Kurosawa movies and watching the ones I haven't seen.

As hinted above, this movie is definitely more optimistic than some of Kurosawa's films. The optimism definitely comes from the Rankin Bass influence. I'm fairly certain the Rankin Bass property Anderson is most influenced by is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1975).

With the original Rudolph the main cast ends up on the Island of Misfit toys where, of course, outcast toys live. That parallels Trash Island where the outcast dogs are sent. The New Year influence comes in with a hero coming to an island (er, islands) and look for a missing character and gets help from inhabitants.

Oh, and of course, the animation style.

Before I went into this movie I did have one initial worry. Since this is a movie about dogs, I thought to myself, "Oh no. There's gonna be a lot of dog deaths. Isn't there?" Without spoiling too much, don't worry, there's nothing that traumatic. But this movie does mess around with my emotions a bit too much.

Now, there is one thing that has been brought up that I do feel the need to, at least, acknowledge - cultural appropriation. I honestly don't feel like I'm not qualified enough to talk about it but I will say Anderson's references and use don't seem disrespectful. But again, I'm not sure whether or not I'm one to talk about it, there are probably others who can do a better analysis of this.

There's a lot more I could talk about but I'm going to cut it off here. I really liked this film and highly recommend it. If there are major complaints about this movie I can't think of them right now.

What are your thoughts on the movie?

Comment below and share this blog with others.

Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter @DocJohn90.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

My #ChangeTheChannel Response and Apology

This image came from a video by SwizzlyBubbles

I've been a fan of the website Channel Awesome (formerly known as That Guy With the Glasses) almost since its beginning. I routinely watch videos created by current and former content creators. I was a massive fan of the site and its main talent the Nostalgia Critic (Doug Walker).

Many of the contributors of the site helped me appreciate and get into things that I'm now a fan of.

In a way, the site and its producers motivated me to start this blog and think about look into possibly doing video reviews. There was even a hope that I'd get to be a content creator of the site.

But my feelings towards the site have changed.

Recently, many former contributors released a 65 page Google document called, "Not So Awesome". In it, they talk about the terrible treatment they and others had received during their time with the website. The allegations include mismanagement, poor communications with producers, sexism and just all around horrible treatment.

Link to the complete document: Not So Awesome Google doc - condensed version 

This horrified me. A site that I had followed almost since its beginning was treating its contributors as almost nothing. It even enraged me.

Eventually, I calmed down and said to myself, "Okay, let's see what Channel Awesome does next." Because I believe in giving people a chance to share their side of the story. The higher-ups at the site eventually responded and it was one of the most non-apologies ever. I basically gave up after reading the line, "we sincerely regret you felt that way".

Now, I'm not saying an apology would've fixed every problem. Chances are there are several bridges are thoroughly burned. But an apology would've been something. Something to at least acknowledge that you messed up in the past and show that you're trying to make things better.

This is part of a larger thread.

But instead, you gave us this.

Dan Olson, a former contributor, says it best.

According to Tony Goldmark (Some Jerk With a Camera), one of the current contributors, he basically warned them to make sure their apology is sincere because if it isn't it'll blow up in their face. And it appears that he was right. Apparently, he's now debating whether or not he should stick around.

Part of a larger thread

Now there are two reasons why I wanted to write this. First, because I wanted to express my thoughts and feelings about this whole thing, especially since this involves a site I've liked for a long time. Second, because I knew about some of these things and I felt guilty for basically ignoring it.

I didn't know about everything that's talked about in the document, but I knew of a few of them. But, I guess my reason for ignoring it is because I thought it was just between those few people and nothing else. But still, that's not an excuse. I should've said/done something.

So, I'm going to do something that is apparently tough for the top dogs of Channel Awesome.

To all those who have been bullied, harassed, mistreated and everything else during their time on Channel Awesome and afterward, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry that I blatantly ignored the problems I knew of and didn't do anything about it. I know I'm just an amateur schmuck blogger with no big connections but at the very least I could've shown more support towards you guys. I'm sorry you all experienced these horrible conditions and treatment.

I hope to help future endeavors by contributing to individuals Patreons and subscribing to individual content channels and such.

Also, in regards to those still producing for the site, I'd like to quote Lewis Lovhaug (Linkara of Atop the Fourth Wall) from his "I Have Left Channel Awesome" post:

"... please do not take my and others’ departures as a sign that you should harass or question those who do remain. Others may not be as fortunate and rely upon the views they get from the site or they may just have their own reasons for staying that they do not wish to share. It is their prerogative. All I will say is that you should support the content you love."

As for Channel Awesome, I don't know what the next step is for you guys. Especially after that non-apology of yours. But right now, I can't in good conscious support the site.

Overall, I just hope things get better for those who were hurt and the management gets better at the site.

90TH ACADEMY AWARD PREDICTIONS

Short and sweet. Here are my picks for who I think will win at the 90th Acadamy Awards. I may make changes on my predictions before the ceremony but for now, this is where it stands.

I'm also ranking who I think will win. The first one is my predicted winner, the bottom pick I'm not holding my breath on winning.

Updated a few categories since my originally publishing.

PICTURE:
1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Get Out
3. Lady Bird
4. The Shape of Water
5. Dunkirk
6. Call Me By Your Name
7. The Post
8. Darkest Hour
9. Phantom Thread

DIRECTOR:
1. Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water
2. Jordan Peele - Get Out
3. Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
4. Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird
5. Paul Thomas Anderson - Phantom Thread

LEAD ACTOR:
1. Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
2. Timothee Chalamat - Call Me By Your Name
3. Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
4. Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
5. Denzel Washington - Roman J. Israel, Esq. 

LEAD ACTRESS:
1. Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water 
3. Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird
4. Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
5. Meryl Streep - The Post

Truth be told, Lead Actress is basically a four-way tie between the top four. I won't be surprised if any of those wins tonight.

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
3. Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water
4. Woody Harrelson - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. Christopher Plummer - All the Money in the World

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Allison Janney - I, Tonya
2. Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
3. Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
4. Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water
5. Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1. Get Out
2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
3. Lady Bird
4. The Shape of Water
5. The Big Sick

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Call Me By Your Name
2. Molly's Game
3. The Disaster Artist
4. Mudbound
5. Logan

ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN:
1. The Shape of Water
2. Dunkirk
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. Beauty and the Beast
5. Darkest Hour

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
1. Blade Runner 2049
2. Dunkirk
3. The Shape of Water
4. Mudbound 
5. Darkest Hour

Just give Roger Deakins an Oscar already! Please

COSTUME DESIGN:
1. Phantom Thread
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. The Shape of Water
4. Darkest Hour
5. Victoria & Abdul

FILM EDITING:
1. Baby Driver
2. Dunkirk
3. The Shape of Water
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. I, Tonya

HAIR/MAKEUP:
1. Darkest Hour
2. Wonder
3. Victoria & Abdul

SOUND EDITING:
1. Dunkirk
2. The Shape of Water
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. Baby Driver
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

SOUND MIXING:
1. Dunkirk
2. The Shape of Water
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. Baby Driver
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

VISUAL EFFECTS:
1. Blade Runner 2049
2. War for the Planet of the Apes
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
5. Kong: Skull Island

ORIGINAL SCORE:
1. The Shape of Water
2. Dunkirk
3. Phantom Thread
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

ORIGINAL SONG:
1. "Remember Me" - Coco
2. "Stand Up for Something" - Marshall
3. "This Is Me" - The Greatest Showman
4.  "Mighty River" - Mudbound
5.  "Mystery of Love" - Call Me By Your Name

The top three songs are basically in a three-way tie.

ANIMATED FILM:
1. Coco
2. Loving Vincent
3. The Breadwinner
4. The Boss Baby
5. Ferdinand

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
1. The Square
2. A Fantastic Woman
3. Loveless
4. On Body and Soul
5. The Insult

DOCUMENTARY:
1. Faces Places
2. Icarus
3. Last Men in Aleppo
4. Strong Island
5. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

I feel so guilty not getting around to watching any of these docs even though some of them are on Netflix.

As for the short films:
Animated: Dear Basketball
Documentary: Edith+Eddie 
Live Action: Dekalb Elementary

I don't have much of a system for predicting shorts so I'm basically making the same predictions as Awardscircuit.com. It's a great website about movie news and Oscar buzz. Check them out.

What are your predictions? Share them in the comments.

Little Moment, Big Meaning: The Chef Special from Moonlight

One of my favorite channels on Youtube is Binging with Babish. It's creator, Andrew Rea, re-creates and sometimes improves upon dishes seen in movies and tv shows. I was hooked on this series instantly. He has cooked up dishes seen in Creed (2015), Big Night (1996), Elf (2003) and even tackled stuff from Game of Thrones. This is series where any chance I get I'll tell you about it.

One such instant happened a few months ago when I was chatting with a friend of mine. I mentioned to her that there was an episode on how to make the Chef Special in Moonlight (2016). She then told me that scene actually made her cry. At first, I thought that it was a bit weird because while it was a well-made scene I didn't think it was that emotional. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was a truly impactful scene.

How so? Think about it. The character of Chiron seemed to get the short end of the stick at every point in his life. His biological father is out of the picture entirely, his mother grows more distant from him as her drug addiction becomes worse, he's bullied at school, betrayed by his only friend, and his loving surrogate father turned out to be supplying his mom the drugs.

During his adult years, Chiron (Trevante Rhodes in this segment) lives in Atlanta and basically became like Juan, his surrogate father (Mahershala Ali). He gets a call from both his mother (Naomi Harris) and his estranged friend, Kevin (Andre Holland) who he hasn't spoken to since high school. He goes down makes somewhat amends with his mother and sees Kevin at a restaurant he works at. Kevin then whips up the Chef Special for him.

The dish itself is grilled chicken, beans and rice. Nothing really that special, right? But think about it, this meal that was made for Chiron. There's no catches or tricks. Nothing bad came about because of this meal. It was a nice meal made by a friend because it was a nice thing to do. This was is a rare thing for Chiron.

It brings to mind this Aesop quote, "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is wasted."

Kevin probably knows a little bit of Chiron's troubled life - mainly the stuff from high school - but he probably has no idea what his psyche is like. It has damaged him to the point to where he's blocked off any and all emotions outside of a tough guy persona.

This meal may lead to Chiron opening up more to Kevin, to others and will probably lead to a healing journey for him.

If you haven't watched Moonlight please check it out and watch a great film that features this magnificent scene.

Also, check out Binging with Babish: https://www.bingingwithbabish.com/