FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS

It's only a matter of time before the 89th Academy Awards, so here are my final predictions.

Picture:

1. La La Land

2. Moonlight

3. Manchester by the Sea

4. Hell or High Water

5. Arrival

6. Lion

7. Hacksaw Ridge

8. Fences

9. Hidden Figures

Director:

1. Damien Chazelle - La La Land

2. Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

3. Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea

4. Denis Villeneuve - Arrival

5. Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge

Actor:

1. Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea

2. Ryan Gosling - La La Land

3. Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

4. Denzel Washington - Fences

5. Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

Actress:

1. Emma Stone - La La Land

2. Natalie Portman - Jackie

3. Isabelle Huppert - Elle

4. Ruth Negga - Loving

5. Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins

Sup. Actor:

1. Mahershala Ali - Moonlight

2. Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

3. Dev Patel - Lion

4. Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea

5. Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals

Sup. Actress:

1. Viola Davis - Fences

2. Naomie Harris - Moonlight

3. Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea

4. Nicole Kidman - Lion

5. Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

Original Screenplay:

1. Manchester by the Sea

2. Hell or High Water

3. La La Land

4. The Lobster

5. 20th Century Women

Adapted Screenplay:

1. Moonlight

2. Arrival

3. Hidden Figures

4. Lion

5. Fences

Animated:

1. Zootopia

2. Kubo and the Two Strings

3. Moana

4. My Life as a Zucchini

5. The Red Turtle

Art Direction:

1. La La Land

2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

3. Arrival

4. Hail, Caesar!

5. Passengers

Cinematography:

1. La La Land

2. Moonlight

3. Arrival

4. Lion

5. Silence

Costume:

1. Jackie

2. La La Land

3. Florence Foster Jenkins

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

5. Allied

Film Editing:

1. La La Land

2. Hacksaw Ridge

3. Moonlight

4. Arrival

5. Hell or High Water

Hair and Makeup:

1. Star Trek Beyond

2. A Man Called Ove

3. Suicide Squad

Sound Editing:

1. Hacksaw Ridge

2. Arrival

3. La La Land

4. Deepwater Horizon

5. Sully

Sound Mixing:

1. Hacksaw Ridge

2. Arrival

3. La La Land

4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Visual Effects:

1. The Jungle Book

2. Doctor Strange

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

4. Kubo and the Two Strings

5. Deepwater Horizon

Original Score:

1. La La Land

2. Lion

3. Moonlight

4. Jackie

5. Passengers

Original Song:

1. “City of Stars” - La La Land

2. “Can’t Stop the Feeling” - Trolls

3. “Auditions (I Fools Who Dream)” - La La Land

4. “How Far I’ll Go” - Moana

5. “The Empty Chair” - Jim: The James Foley Story

Documentary:

1. O.J.: Made in America

2. 13th

3. I Am Not Your Negro

4. Life, Animated

5. Fire at Sea

Foreign Film:

1. Toni Erdmann

2. The Salesman

3. A Man Called Ove

4. Tanna
5. Land of Mine

Animated Short: Pearl
Documentary Short: Joe's Violin
Live Action Short: Ennemis Interieurs

Top 15 Worst Films of 2016

It's finally here. It's time to count down what I thought were the worst films of 2016. The reason I decided to go for 15 for best and worst is because there's was a lot I wanted to cover and I thought 15 was a good number.

Not please keep in mind with this list - I have not seen every single poorly reviewed movie that came out last year. So, if a bad movie came out that isn't on this there's a good chance I either didn't find it as bad or I just didn't see it.

I'm not getting paid for this stuff so you're just going to have to settle for this.

First, dishonorable mentions:
Ben-Hur (2016)
Carnage Park
Diablo
The Do-Over
Gods of Egypt
Holidays
Mojave
Morgan
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
When the Bough Breaks


Now onto the top 15.

15. Yoga Hoser - dir. Kevin Smith

A lot of people may be surprised to see this so low on the list, and honestly, I don't think it's awful. Obviously, I don't think it's good because it's on this list but I can at least appreciate how creative it is. But I can't really overlook how annoyed I was by a lot of the jokes. Seriously, a lot of the jokes are just "it's funny because Canada." Example: when the girls open up the store they say, "Sorry, aboot that." I do have hope that Smith's next film Moose Jaws is better. 

14. Suicide Squad - dir. David Ayer

I originally gave this movie a passing review when it came out but after months of thinking about it time and time again I can't look past the flaws. This isn't a good movie which is a shame because there are some really good ideas in here. I kept hearing people say this was "DC's Guardians of the Galaxy" but the difference is with Guardians we were getting a new group of characters that didn't need too much development. With Suicide, we have a group of villains who were established through their adversaries, having other films establishing the heroes first would've made this a lot easier to introduce them and give them a movie. I really wanted to like this.

13. Mechanic: Resurrection - dir. Dennis Gansel
Before I saw this movie I went ahead and watched the original 1972 Charles Bronson film and the 2010 remake. Both films were pretty good in their own right. Then I saw this film and this seemed like another case of a bad action script becoming an unnecessary sequel. There's was nothing about this film that made me think this was a sequel to the 2010 film. I could go on about the many stupid moments in this movie (mainly the stupid prison assassination).

12. Cell - dir. Tod Williams

This movie probably wins the so funny its great award. I was seriously laughing my butt off at several moments. I say go watch it. Here are the basics: it has to do with a virus that turns cell phones users into rage zombies. It's stupid but it's hilarious. Also, this has the least caring Samuel L. Jackson performance I've ever seen. Seriously, Jackson is just waiting for the next Tarantino or Avengers film. 

11. Sniper: Special Ops - dir. Fred Olen Ray

Say what you will about American Sniper but that movie at least featured a lead that could pull off the look and attitude of a Navy SEALs sniper and the film was actually about the titular sniper. This movie, however, is BARELY about the sniper and features an actor who really isn't fit for the role. I've heard about how infamous Fred Olen Ray's movies were but this still kind of surprised me. 

10. Dirty Grandpa - dir. Dan Mazer
Here's the main joke of the movie: He's a grandpa and he talks about sex and says dirty words. That's it. And that may for a brief joke or maybe a small sketch but for a motion picture, it doesn't. It really saddens me to see a legend of Hollywood and a talented young star doing a low-brow, unfunny comedy.

09. Alice Through the Looking Glass - dir. James Bobin
I freaking hated this movie. So, why isn't this higher on the list? Because while this film did make me really mad compared to some of the others it isn't as bad. But I couldn't stand this film. It's a sequel to a bland and forgettable movie, it has a lead who is still boring, and there's no drama. I seriously couldn't care about why the Queen of Hearts head is big or where the Mad Hatter's family is. The only good thing about this film was Sacha Baron Cohen.

08. Friend Request - dir. Simon Verhoeven
There are people out there saying we'll never have a good video game-based movie. To me, we'll never have a good internet-based horror movie. While this does have some similarities to Unfriended but where that film at least had an interesting gimmick and maybe a hint of understanding the websites, this one doesn't. Please filmmakers, if you're going to make an internet-based horror movie please do some research.

07. London Has Fallen - dir. Babak Najafi
I'm trying to keep politics out of this but I can't ignore the elephant in the room. The biggest reason is because this film comes off as incredibly xenophobic and racist. Basically, anyone in this movie that is Middle Eastern looking is a bad guy. And given that the attack occurs while a lot of the terrorists wear disguised as police and regular citizen is really concerning to me. Also, the fact our "hero" says the line, "go back to Fuckheadistan," is especially troubling. I don't want to believe that especially since the director was born in Iran, but it's hard to overlook those points I mentioned. But outside of those points, it's not engaging, it's boring and unnecessary. 

06. Max Steel - dir. Stewart Hendler
Say what you will about the Transformers movies but they can at least be interesting in their badness. This movie is so lifeless. I just imagine the executives greenlighting this movie because of everything nostalgia happening now and this was a property in the 90s so why not? Except it's a property that I don't think anyone cares about. So, this movie is barely anything.

05. Outlaws and Angels - dir. J.T. Mollner
This movie is just plain ugly. I get the feeling that the filmmakers wanted to make something like Unforgiven (1992) but instead of having a point to make about violence in the west, it's an ugly and disturbing film that doesn't have anything to add. The worst part of this movie? There's an extremely graphic rape scene that served no purpose outside of being "shocking." The only good things I can say about the film is that Chad Michael Murray and Alison Eastwood give good performances.

04. The Bronze - dir. Bryan Buckley
What happens after a lovable-underdog-athlete wins the competition? Well, apparently they become a spoiled brat who like to steal money from their Dad's job (a mailman) and just act like a terrible person. I say just stick with Rocky 2 (1979) when it comes to stories about the aftermath of the big match. 

03. Norm of the North - dir. Trevor Wall
Obvious choice is obvious. This should not have been in theaters. I mean, just look at the lackluster animation, the lame and tired jokes, and the fact that this sounds like a freaking parody of a Rob Schneider movie. Do I really need to say anything else? 

02. Fifty Shades of Black - dir. Michael Tiddes
This movie had the easiest job in the world: make a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey. But it failed... HARD. I was baffled as to how unfunny this movie was. And it's another case of a parody movie that does actually make fun of the movie but references other aspects. Example: there's a Whiplash parody. Yes, seriously. They "parody" a movie that has nothing to do with Fifty Shades. This movie is so bad that Korey Coleman of Doubletoasted.com made a petition to have Marlon Wayans make movies for Netflix.

Okay, so with the last two being the most obvious, what could possibly make the top spot? Brace yourself.

01. Nine Lives - dir. Barry Sonnenfeld

I'm still baffled that this is a real movie. I remember when I saw the trailer I said to myself that this couldn't be real. I refused to believe it. But it's real and it's bad. It's not only objectively bad, it makes me furious. This movie represents so much of what I think are the worst aspects of filmmaking. It's a movie that relies on lame jokes, it's another product of "It's for kids who cares they'll watch anything," and there's no real passion despite this movie having a good director, looks like it was made for TV. But even then that's insulting to made-for-TV movies. Just don't watch this movie. Period. The only way this could have been worse is if there were offense racist portrayals and such. 

That's my worst of the year, stay tuned for the best of the year. 

R.I.P. John Hurt (1940-2017)

I didn't want to believe it. I held off on an immediate reaction because the only citations used in articles were that of "British newspapers" that I've heard are tabloid-ish. But it appears that the worse has happened.

Sir John Hurt, one of the greatest actors to ever bless the stage or screen (big or small) has passed away at the age of 77.

To say that Sir John was an acting legend would be putting it lightly. He is one of the few actors where every time he appeared he stole the screen. He gave it everything, there was never a moment when I thought, "boy, is he phoning it in this on." No. He was dedicated to his craft.

I'd like to take the time to highlight some of his work.

First I'll pinpoint some of the voice work he did. He was apart of the two animated films based on the works of the late author Richard Adams; he was Hazel in Watership Down (1978) and Snitter in The Plague Dogs (1982). But the voice acting role of his that I want to highlight in particular was when he portrayed Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings (1978). In my opinion, Hurt's portrayal of the ranger turned king is superior to Viggo Mortensen's in the Peter Jackson trilogy. No disrespect to Mortensen but for me Hurt was able to convey the tough warrior aspect all the while showing that, yes, this man is of royal blood.

When it comes to his film and TV roles I could honestly write a book about all the fantastic performances that he had. There's still plenty of his films I need to see but every film of his I've seen I was always impressed.

Whether it was his role as a heroin-addicted English prisoner in a Turkish prison (his first Oscar-nominated role), a concerned father wanting to help his friends and family escape East gin Night Crossing (1982), a dictator in V for Vendetta (2005),  a fatherly academic of the supernatural in the Hellboy movies, a wonderful mystical old story teller in Jim Henson's The Storyteller, the spiritual leader on a post-apocalyptic train in Snowpiercer (2013), or being the first actor to get an alien burst through his chest in Alien (1979) he was always amazing.
I also loved his comedic chops whenever he got the chance to. Mainly whenever he worked with Mel Brooks. Like when he played Jesus in History of the World Part 1 (1981) or when he parodied his chest buster scene in Spaceballs (1987)

But to me, if I was to pick the one role of his that I think he will be remembered for is when he portrayed John Merrick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980). This performance is simply brilliant. There are many scenes I could use to pinpoint his amazing portrayal, but I'll stick with one where he manages to express through all the makeup, the vocal expression is great, and should be witnessed.

In the latter part of his career, Sir John managed to gain a whole new fanbase with his involvement with two major nerd franchises. He portrayed the wand salesman Ollivander who gave Harry Potter his wand and added another sense of magic and wonder to that wizarding world. 

And of course, I can't leave out when he became part of the Doctor Who's vast universe by portraying an unusual incarnation of the Doctor - the War Doctor. He could convey the weariness of a man born to fight a brutal war, and he could display the charming comedic aspect that is associated with the character of The Doctor. Watching him work off of the David Tennant and Matt Smith is simply delightful. He continued to play the War Doctor in several Big Finish audio dramas. 

The charm, wit, and magic of this man will be missed. Thank you for everything, Sir John.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS ROUND 2!

The Oscars announce their nominees on Jan. 24 and these are my final predictions based on my own weird system.


That's it.... let's just get to the predictions.

Best Picture:

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Director:

Damien Chazelle - La La Land
Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
Pablo Larrain - Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea
Denis Villeneuve - Arrival 

Best Actor:

Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington - Fences


Best Actress:

Amy Adams - Arrival
Isabelle Huppert - Elle
Ruth Negga - Loving
Natalie Portman - Jackie
Emma Stone - La La Land

Best Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel - Lion
Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress:

Viola Davis - Fences
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
Nicole Kidman - Lion
Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea

Best Original Screenplay:
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Loving
Manchester by the Sea

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Arrival
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals

Best Animated Film:
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
Zootopia

Best Production Design/Art Direction:
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Jackie
The Jungle Book
La La Land

Best Cinematography:
Arrival
Jackie
The Jungle Book
La La Land
Moonlight

Best Costume Design:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
Love & Friendship

Best Film Editing:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Hair and Makeup:
Florence Foster Jenkins
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond

Best Sound Editing:
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
The Jungle Book
La La Land

Best Sound Mixing:
Arrival 
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
The Jungle Book
La La Land

Best Sound Editing:
Arrival 
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
The Jungle Book
La La Land

Best Visual Effects:
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 

Best Original Score:
Hidden Figures
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight

Best Original Song:
"Auditions (The Fools Who Dream)" - La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" - Trolls
"City of Stars" - La La Land
"Drive It Like You Stole It" - Sing Street
"How Far I'll Go" - Moana 

Best Documentary:
13th
Cameraperson
The Eagle Huntress
O.J.: Made in America
Tower

Best Foreign Language Film:
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
My Life as a Zucchini
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

Updates and FIRST ROUND OF OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Greetings, everyone. It certainly has been awhile.

I apologize for not posting anything on here for nearly a year but life kind of grabbed my throat and wouldn't let go. I had the duties of my then-job, a dour mood that didn't help things, I was writing for a different website that's way more professional that this, getting a new job in my hometown, moving back to my hometown, dealing with the responsibilities of the new job, and getting a puppy. In other words, non-paying blog writing took a vacation from my mind and a bunch of other things took priority. But I found my inner Mickey Goldmill shouting at me to "get back in there and write! Write you son-of-a-bitch! Don't lay down! Write one more!"
Normally, I don't listen to the voices in my head too much but it seemed like a good idea... this time at least.
So, I'm going to try and write more frequently on here with movie reviews and whatever pops into my mind. Don't worry about that last part, I won't scribble down my manifesto about whatever inner ramblings are going on in my head.

Right now this is what I have planned:

• Movie reviews. Duh. Much like in past, I'm not paid to go to movies so when I see a movie, the money comes out of my own pocket. So, I'm not going to go out of my way to see the sure-to-be top notch films that come out in January. 
• I will have a Best and Worst for 2016. But given that a lot of awards potential films don't reach my neck of the woods til January, they won't be out until February. 
• Given the massive amount of deaths that took place last year, I will come out with my own tribute to those who died that made a massive impact on me.  
• Inspired by a friend of mine, I am going to attempt to watch 365 films this year and do mini-reviews for them. Current releases will get separate reviews as well. I certainly hope this works out but life doesn't always comply so who knows what'll happen. 
• I make no promises about this next one. I really want to try and convert my reviews to a video format. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while and at least do one this year. 
• I'll come out with my own little movie awards. I did one a few years ago and I wanted to do one last year but it just didn't work out. 
• I will continue to do my Oscar predictions. As many of you know, the Oscars are my Super Bowl. 

Speaking of which....

Here are my predictions as of right now. Like in previous years I make these predictions based on my own weird system. I'm going to reserve predictions for the movies Silence, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Patriots Day in certain categories seeing as it seems they weren't released to voters earlier like others. Also, given how many films didn't make the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film that became a bit harder. 

Best Picture:
Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Jackie 

La La Land

Lion

Loving

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

(Silence)

Best Director:
Damien Chazelle - La La Land

Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge

Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

Pablo Larrain - Jackie

Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea

(Martin Scorsese - Silence)

Best Leading Actor:

Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea

Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling - La La Land

Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington - Fences

(Andrew Garfield - Silence)

Best Leading Actress:

Amy Adams - Arrival 

Isabelle Huppert - Elle

Ruth Negga - Loving

Natalie Portman - Jackie

Emma Stone - La La Land

Best Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali - Moonlight

Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

Ben Foster - Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patal - Lion

(Issey Ogata - Silence)

Best Supporting Actress:

Viola Davis - Fences

Naomie Harris - Moonlight

Nicole Kidman - Lion

Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea

Best Original Screenplay:

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Little Men

The Lobster

Manchester by the Sea

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Arrival

Hidden Figures

Lion

Moonlight

Nocturnal Animals

(Silence)

Best Animated Picture:

Finding Dory

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

The Red Turtle

Zootopia

Best Art Direction/Production Design:

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Jackie

The Jungle Book

La La Land

(Silence)

Best Cinematography:

Arrival

The Childhood of a Leader

Jackie

La La Land

Moonlight

(Silence)

(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

Best Costume Design:

Doctor Strange

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

Love & Friendship

(Silence)

Best Film Editing:

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Jackie

La La Land

Moonlight

(Silence)

Best Hair/Makeup:

Florence Foster Jenkins

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing:

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Allied

Hacksaw Ridge

The Jungle Book

La La Land

(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

(Patriots Day)

(Silence)

Best Visual Effects:

Arrival

The BFG

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Jungle Book

(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

Best Original Score:

Hidden Figures

The Jungle Book

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight 

(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

Best Original Song:

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream" - La La Land

"Can't Stop the Feeling" - Trolls

"City of Stars" - La La Land

"Drive It Like You Stole It" - Sing Street

"How Far I'll Go" - Moana

Best Documentary:

13th

Cameraperson

Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America

Tower

Best Foreign Language Film:

Land of Mine - Denmark

A Man Called Ove - Sweden

Paradise - Russia

The Salesman - Iran

Toni Erdmann - Germany

Thank you all for reading this and I hope this new years brings all of you a lot of laughter and joy.