My Top 5 Films of 2017

Yes, I'm back. Momentarily. The blog's technically on hiatus still while I'm working on my book (and my latest short film, Dead Tired, coming soon...ish) but Christmas is a time for tradition, and it has become a tradition for me to list my five favourite films on here for New Year's Eve. And with the number of fantastic films that came out this year, it would be sacrilege not to honour them. So, you know the drill. Remember, no festival films like Lady Bird or The Florida Project that haven't made it to UK cinemas yet, although I'm sure they'll make an appearance in my Oscars double bill. Also, no spoilers, so don't y'all worry.

Updated Top 5 of 2016
5. The Nice Guys
4. 10 Cloverfield Lane
3. Zootopia
2. La La Land
1. The Neon Demon

5. Baby Driver - Edgar Wright
I've always had a kind of desire to make a short film or music video in which all the action on screen perfectly syncs with the music: the perfectionist in me finds that kind of thing very satisfying, and it seems Edgar Wright is on a similar wavelength. Baby Driver is Wright's first non-comedy feature, and as expected, traces of the Cornetto trilogy and his other comedic works are present in its tongue-in-cheek tone. In spite of this though, Baby Driver is a very exciting, tightly-executed action film. As one would expect, the choreography of the action scenes takes centre stage, and these are fantastically put together, containing a good mix of car chases, on-foot chases and gunfights. There's some great performances here too, especially from Jamie Foxx as a love-to-hate villain whose every minute on screen you spend fearing what he'll do next. The film only really falters at its ending where, without spoiling, everything seems great then something bad happens but then we fast forward a bit and everything's fine again. It's very clumsily put together and to me it reeks of last-minute studio or focus group meddling, maybe an attempt to karmatically justify the protagonist and thus not let him get away with all the crimes he commits. Even if implemented properly, I still think it would have been better to leave the ending as 'everything being fine', for consistency of tone if nothing else. Regardless, this is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already, especially if you're a lover of jukebox music and vehicular action.
9/10, High Recommendation

4. Blade Runner 2049 - Denis Villeneuve
In true Blade Runner tradition, it took two viewings of this modern sci-fi classic before I really started to like it. But once I did, it stood out in my mind as one of the best sci-fi films of the decade. From a technical standpoint, Blade Runner 2049 is practically perfect: the acting, the effects, the music (oh god, the music!) and, of course, Roger Deakins' killer cinematography. If Deakins misses out at the Oscars this year, I'm not sure I can be held responsible for my actions. But, how does it compare to the original? Blade Runner is one of my all-time favourite films, and the element that makes it so unique to me is its atmosphere and world building: both its aural and visual design are masterfully evocative. This atmosphere, to me, is what makes Blade Runner one of those ‘lightning-in-a-bottle’ type films, that just can’t be reproduced. Refreshingly though, 2049 doesn’t attempt to replicate the atmosphere of the original and instead tries to create its own unique, modern interpretation of the same kind of mood. And I think that’s the key to its success: it’s inspired by Blade Runner, not copying from it, which is how these kinds of films should be handled. It’s telling, therefore, that 2049’s biggest weakness is its sole connection to the original. Harrison Ford reprises his role of Deckard, presumably because it worked so well in The Force Awakens, and the plot of the film revolves around his and Rachel’s legacy. However, this raises questions that could potentially confuse or even contradict lore from the first film, as well as its famous ambiguous question about Deckard’s identity that could have been easily avoided without affecting the story at all by just changing Deckard and Rachel to two new characters. It’s understandable wanting to keep some connection between the two films, but 2049 would be a lot stronger and self-contained without them. Otherwise, besides one nearly pointless scene that was shamelessly lifted from Her, there’s really not much else wrong with this film. A spectacular science fiction film, and while I still prefer the original, this is the stronger film. A very rare achievement and a modern classic for sure, Blade Runner 2049 is one of the best sci-fi films of the decade.
9/10, High Recommendation

3. Logan - James Mangold
Simply put, this is the best comic book drama since The Dark Knight. Yes, that's the kind of level we're talking here. Logan isn't your standard Disney-fied Marvel blockbuster; in fact in the screenplay for Logan, there's a note that reads "if you're on the make for a hyper-choreographed, gravity defying, city-block destroying, CG fuckathon, this ain't your movie." While there are some great action scenes, they're all relatively small-scale, but with grand stakes and characters that we genuinely care about put in peril. You know, how proper action scenes should be, rather than a cloud of CGI nonsense disintegrating a load of random buildings and simply shrugging it off (looking at you, Transformers). No, this film, much like The Dark Knight, is much more grounded in reality and even has an artistic side: meditating on themes of mortality and family, and as always from this franchise, some interesting commentary on discrimination, drawing parallels between the mutants and ethnic minorities. Logan is the thinking man's comic book film, a film that shows what can truly be done with the superhero concept and puts other recent Marvel and DC films to shame. Unfortunately, now Disney has bought Fox and consequently the X-Men franchise, I get the impression this film, much like Logan himself, may be the last of its kind.
9/10, High Recommendation

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Rian Johnstone

Is this a controversial choice? I can’t even tell any more if people actually like this film.

I had some concerns about Disney’s handling of the franchise: with The Force Awakens, I was concerned by the lack of originality, but gave it a free pass considering it had to welcome in a new fanbase and prove that the franchise was in safe hands. Then there was Rogue One, which was a good film but was a bit of a mess in terms of characters and plot, but again, I gave it a pass considering this was a side story and not connected to the new trilogy. So, there was a lot riding on the quality of The Last Jedi: theoretically, my entire opinion of Disney’s treatment of Star Wars hung in the balance. How gratifying then that The Last Jedi is, by far, the best Star Wars film outside of the original trilogy. Yes, there are things wrong with it: there's an extended side plot involving Finn that goes exactly nowhere, there's a laughably ridiculous yet awkward moment involving Leia, and there's a case of a character withholding key information from another for literally no reason and only reveals it once things have escalated way out of hand. But besides that, this film still packs an absolute punch. It’s a jam-packed epic, bursting with nail-biting tension, strong character development, breath-taking action sequences and unpredictable twists and turns. The Last Jedi also has just the right amount of fan service without pandering, and the lore, especially with the Jedi, has evolved and been expanded upon in a way that feels natural and fresh. And while the runtime may be formidable, you won't want it to end, and believe me, you get your money's worth. There's tonnes of incredible set pieces and story beats, and just when you think it's climaxed, it keeps on going. A fantastic blockbuster no matter how you look at it, The Last Jedi has restored my faith in Disney's Star Wars, even if their merchandising is out of control.

9/10, High Recommendation

1. Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan
I agonised over the number 1 slot. In all honesty, these five films could be arranged in practically any order on this ranking and I'd probably be OK with it still. Truth be told, this ranking has already been adjusted once during writing, and it could easily be shifted again. A rewatch is required for all of these before I can be certain, but for now at least, I'm going with Dunkirk. I made the extra effort to see this one projected on film at the BFI IMAX in London and...goddamn. The opening scene in the deathly quiet street, suddenly pierced by volcanic gunfire was one of those defining movie moments for me: almost never before has a gunshot in a film startled me so much. The other part that really stood out to me were the aerial scenes aboard the spitfires. On a screen as titanic as the London IMAX, the endless ocean vista completely fills your peripheral vision: I felt like I was flying. It may sound like I'm just caught up in the IMAX experience more than the film itself, and maybe there's something in that, but even still this is a phenomenal film. Something about the atmosphere of this film is so oppressive and threatening, the way it wraps itself around and constricts its protagonists, particularly in the 'Mole' plotline. It helps that the German forces are never really seen, but instead presented as a looming background threat, a ticking time-bomb for the protagonists to escape. Unlike other war films, this isn't just about fighting or the futility of warfare, but something much more primal: survival. I'd been a little disappointed with Nolan as of late: neither Interstellar nor The Dark Knight Rises particularly impressed me, and even Inception didn't completely satisfy. But this time, he's nailed it, and I can't wait to see what he does next.
9/10, High Recommendation

I have a good feeling about 2018. I don't know what it is exactly, but something in my gut tells me this is going to be a good year. I already have planned and in-production a number of projects that shall hopefully come to fruition in the new year, including five short films (yes, five) and my novel, so even if the blog remains on hiatus for a little while longer, there'll still be plenty of content next year. I hope everyone had a a good Christmas, and I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year, full of fantastic films and fantastic people. See you at the Oscars!

Summer Updates 2017

Summer is upon us once again, so it's time for another round of updates: all the latest developments in my creative life.

Firstly, I'm afraid I've got some disappointing news. For the next year or so, I will be taking my focus away from the blog. That means, outside of my regular Top 5 and Oscar posts, I will most likely not be updating this blog between now and July/August next year. Now, bear with me: there is a good reason behind this I swear.

It's not because I'm losing interest in the blog, nor is it because I'm running out of ideas. Far from it, in fact. I think I've got more drafts of potential ideas than I have actual published posts. Of course, trying to write up those ideas into fully fledged posts is a separate challenge, and while finding the inspiration and motivation to write up these posts inbetween all the other written work I have to do for uni is a genuine issue, my break from the blog is a completely unrelated matter. Instead, I am working hard on a different writing project.

Back in 2015, I started writing a novel titled Chrysalis about the struggles of two alienated teenagers and their social, domestic and societal struggles. Whilst I never lost interest in the project, I hadn't formally added anything for a good year or so, but now that's begun to change. Inspired recently by one of my close friends who just released his first EP, I have decided that I want to finish my first draft of Chrysalis by this time next year. This is my big creative goal at the moment, and with an estimated twenty chapters, I've worked out I'm going to need to be writing at least one chapter every three weeks to keep up with this target, so consequently, especially with everything else going on, I just won't really have time to focus on the blog.

If successful, this will be my first completed book since 2007 (which I don't think really counts), and considering how many books I've started (I count about seven), actually finishing one is kind of a big deal.

Two chapters of Chrysalis are already available to read for free here, with a third arriving in the near future, and you can keep up with the book's progress via my facebook page.

In the meantime, I'm also working towards my fourth short film, currently under the working title of Dead Tired (hopefully not the final title, I feel I can do better than that). We've had a few issues with scheduling, so shooting hasn't started as early as I'd like, but we plan to start on the 22nd, with the majority of the shoots taking place in the last week of August. This is going to be the first film where I have complete creative control, so I'm very much looking forward to it, not to mention I'll be able to put my new-found knowledge from uni to the test, as well as several hundred pounds worth of new equipment I've bought, including two new prime lenses and proper audio equipment.

I can't really give a specific date of completion yet, but I'll be editing throughout September, hopefully finishing and uploading the film by the end of said month, to coincide with my return to university. The best way to keep up with the film's progress, and hopefully see some behind the scenes content, is to like my facebook page, although I may mention it briefly on the blog too.

Lastly, just a quick mention that I've added a new page to the blog titled 'Other Works', essentially a list of all the creative projects I've made and been involved with. At the moment, that translates to a list of short films and novels, but as I work on more and more projects, there should end up being a wealth of content there, with links when possible.

And I think that's about it. Well, I've got a book to write and a film to storyboard, so I'll catch you all in December for the Top 5 of 2017. Over and out.

Alien: Covenant (2017) - I Have a Confession

It may have been a mistake making my first few posts 1000+ words all those years ago, because now I feel like I can't justifiably write and release an update if it isn't essay-length, and maybe if I hadn't set such a high precedent so early, maybe I would write here more often (if you hadn't noticed, I've already broken my one-a-month streak for the year). As it stands, I've basically set myself the task of writing additional essays in the free time between writing my college essays. Not exactly the best state of affairs, so I think I'm gonna start writing smaller posts like this, and maybe not get quite so caught up with adhering to some kind of imagined word count. This is my blog, after all.

Oh look, a one-hundred-and-thirty-word intro before we even get to the main content. That's probably how I keep reaching such astronomical word counts. Anyway, I've decided today I'm going to briefly talk about Alien: Covenant, the latest instalment of the, now rather qualitatively lop-sided, Alien franchise. I'll give a quick sum-up of my thoughts like a review, but ultimately I'm here to confess a sin, for I feel I have somehow dishonoured myself and wasn't sure what other platform to confess on (I'm sure as hell not going to a church).

So, Alien: Covenant. After Prometheus was released five years ago (it's been five years? Jeez...), being explicitly pitched by director Ridley Scott as not being a prequel to Alien, many fans were disappointed when it turned out Prometheus really wasn't a direct prequel to Alien. I know, shock horror (although I may have been one of those guys). My issue was the ending seemed to be setting up practically a direct explanation for the crashed ship in Alien, then curve-balled at the last moment for no real reason. So now, to make more money, er, I mean, to try and bridge the narrative gap between Prometheus and Alien, Ridley Scott has released Alien: Covenant, the first of two sequels to Prometheus.

Overall, the film isn't great. I was definitely entertained when I was experiencing it, but once I was out of the cinema and I really started thinking about it, my opinion worsened. I think the worst part of the film is its characters: we're introduced to a crew of fifteen, of which only two are 'characterised' enough for you to even know their names. In fact, half of the crew are killed in the space of about five minutes barely a quarter of the way into the film. Not only are the crew made out to be insultingly disposable, they're also complete and total morons. Now, I know there's a bit of a trope in horror films of the main characters having recently suffered some kind of lobotomy, and even the crew of the original Alien had moments of poor decision making, but Covenant is on some other level of imbecility. Here are just some of the stupid things some of the Covenant crew do in this film;

• A man kicks some alien plant, and sticks his face right up to it and takes a big ol' whiff of the pollen-like stuff that it releases. He gives birth to an alien.
• A woman, who's already seen that the planet is full of hostile aliens, goes off on her own for a bit. An alien joins her.
• A man allows an obviously evil android to lead him down to a dark cellar filled with eggs. Upon enquiring about said eggs, the android suggests he should put his face near one, and HE ACTUALLY DOES IT.

The other big problem for me was the special effects; specifically, the alien creatures. None of the creatures seen in this film look even remotely real or like they're in the scene with the characters. CG has come far enough now that this frankly shouldn't be an issue anymore. Now, I know special effects aren't everything, but in a horror film (especially one like this with less-than Shakespearean writing), the believability of effects, especially creature effects, is a massive part of it, because if your film can't convince me that your monster is there, then I will not be scared of your monster and will not feel scared for your characters (especially when they're all such ignoramuses). As it is, the aliens in this film move a bit too fast, are in the light too much and look like they were rendered for a video game.

Ultimately, if you liked Prometheus, you'll probably get something out of this, but if you're not as invested in the franchise, you're not really missing a whole lot. But now, time for the main course. My great confession. The actual reason behind me writing this post. And, just as a warning, I will be discussing Spoilers for Alien: Covenant, so skip to the end if you haven't seen it and care.

So we have two identical androids, Walter and David, one good, one evil, both played by Michael Fassbender (side note: what purpose did that kiss actually serve, outside of just "ooh, look what we can do with the power of technology!"). As the surviving members of the Covenant crew leave the temple, David and Walter are fighting, yet we don't see the outcome, later seeing Walter meet up with the crew and escape with them. But right at the end of the film, Walter reveals himself, just as protagonist Daniels enters hypersleep, to actually be David, and he proceeds to place two facehugger embryos in with the colonists. What a twist.

Now. Apparently, it's blindingly obvious from as far back as the fight scene that David was going to switch places with Walter, and most people I've seen reviews from talk about how insultingly predictable this is. (You may see where this is going)

So, here's my confession: I didn't realise. Usually, I'm great at noticing and predicting these kinds of plot elements, considering how often I write my own stories and how familiar I 've become with traditional Hollywood plot devices, but this one flew completely under my radar.

But wait, it gets worse.

Not only did I not pick up on this switcheroo, one of the most cliched twists of all time, I was still oblivious during the reveal. Yes, even as the android revealed himself to Daniels, and even when he was planting the embryos, I still didn't catch on. I still thought it was Walter, albeit a newly evilised Walter.

It wasn't unitl I was discussing the film with my best friend, several days later, where he mentioned how obvious that scene was that, after a slight confusion, I finally realised what had happened.
So not only was I caught out by the oldest twist in the book, but I'm so unperceptive as to not even realise the twist when the twist was revealed. And I don't even know what to think of myself anymore.

End of Spoilers

Well, now I've soiled any credibility I had as a film reviewer (certainly as a writer), I guess that's as good a place as any to leave off. This has been therapeutic, I feel like a great weight has been lifted. And who else to trust with my deepest darkest secret* than my readership, comprised of strangers on the Internet? You won't make me some kind of laughing stock, right guys?

Guys?

Alien: Covenant - 2017 - Ridley Scott - USA
Score: 6
Recommendation: Medium


*not actually my deepest darkest secret

EDIT: I've since realised this post has managed to exceed 1000 words, despite what I said in the beginning. Maybe there's some weird curse that prevents me from writing less.

Critical Thinking: A Brief Defence of Criticism

There seems to be a major issue right now in regards to how the public understands and views criticism, both in its intent and in how it reflects on the critic's opinion. It's something that's been bothering me for a little while now, and an exchange I had last year brought it back to my attention, highlighting just how much of a stigma there seems to be towards criticism in the general consciousness. Thus, I thought it was time I finally put it down in writing.

So back in September of last year, my dad and I were driving home from a professional production of Little Shop of Horrors, probably my favourite musical and one that I'm very familiar with, especially since I'd been involved in an amateur production of it earlier that year (not to mention I've seen the film and listened to the soundtrack hundreds of times). My dad asked me what I thought of the production, and I mentioned that I was a bit disappointed with some of the characterisations, which I felt didn't fully capture who each character really was and what they were supposed to represent in regards to the story and its themes.

Annoyed, my dad asked me why I always had to critically dissect everything I watched and couldn't just simply enjoy things like other people do. It took me off guard at the time (not least of all because I hadn't even said at this point whether I'd enjoyed the production, which I did for the record), even though my parents have made exclamations of this nature in the past. I didn't really know what to say, so I left the silence to awkwardly hang instead, but now I want to put this irritating question to bed once and for all.

Criticism is not a negative practice. No media or work of art is ever truly objectively perfect; in fact, the very definition of art as an expression of human creativity roots all art in the realm of subjectivity. Thereby, with all the billions of people on the planet and all their different tastes and worldviews, it's pretty much impossible for any intellectual property to please absolutely everyone in all its aspects: someone somewhere will find something they didn't like. Which is awesome: one of the great things about art is that 'water cooler' quality which encourages discussion and gets people comparing their experiences with the piece, even criticising some of the imperfections they noticed. For example, have you ever walked out of a cinema with a friend and had a discussion about a lazy plot point or maybe an off performance? Most likely, but did that little round of criticism mean you didn't like the film?

Of course not (well, depends on the film obviously). Just because you can criticise a work doesn't mean you don't like it: criticising and disliking are two different things. Even films I love have really noticeable flaws (Blade Runner, for example, has mostly quite sub-par acting and the pacing/plot structure is a mess), yet I can still see through those flaws and enjoy other aspects of the film (back to Blade Runner, I love it for its excellent world building, visuals and audio design). Obviously I'm not saying you should just flat out ignore a film's flaws, quite the opposite actually, but you should be able to take any film, even ones you love, and weigh up what works and doesn't work, whilst still being able to enjoy it. Considering no film is truly perfect, every film from Citizen Kane down to The Room has at least a few things that can be criticised, but both these films can still be (somewhat) enjoyed for different reasons, despite or even because of its flaws. Criticism can even help you discover what it is that you like about your favourite films, even if that is by eliminating what you don't enjoy.

In this repsect, criticism is an essential part of life, especially in the creative industries, for without criticism nothing will ever get better. Say we have two people, Gary and Jeff. Gary makes a film or a painting or a song and shows his work to Jeff. Now, Jeff could just say "Yeah Gary, really good. Top notch" and Gary would then go on to create more films or paintings or songs, without ever really coming to understand his strengths and weaknesses, even getting progressively worse, as he takes riskier creative decisions with the safety that Jeff will always love what he makes.

Or, alternatively, Jeff could say "Not bad, Gary, but I think you could maybe work on this, this and this.", at which point Gary now has some feedback he can actually work on, and the next time he makes something, he can use this advice to try and improve his work, and thus make greater art for everyone.

Unfortunately, there seems to be some kind of stigma attached to criticism nowadays, since somewhere along the line, criticism has become synonymous with hatred. Now, obviously there's two sides to this coin. For example, the internet is full of hyper-critical entertainment shows such as the Angry Video Game Nerd, Nostalgia Critic, Zero Punctuation and CinemaSins to name a few, and a lot of more casual audiences have come to regard these shows as the face of criticism, despite the fact these are all entertainment shows. Now, it's not like these shows aren't truthful in their criticisms, but positives are reduced and negatives exaggerated for the sake of comedic effect, and reviews of these nature are not intended to be taken completely seriously. CinemasSins specifically has become a bit of a bugbear lately, since as entertaining as it used to be (yeah, I said it), I know people who think that their deliberately nitpicky form of criticism is a legit review of the film in question, and that these are indicative of quality.

Due to this stigma, it's becoming more and more difficult to criticise work, especially that of friends. As you'd expect, I have a lot of creative friends and it seems so difficult to tell people what you really think about their output just out of fear that they might take your well-intended criticism as an attack.

And please don't think I'm somehow above all this criticism; I've heard the argument before of "How would you like it if someone criticised your work?" and to the people who seem to believe this is an actual retaliation, I say please do. No, seriously, I invite you, nay, implore you to go check out my work and criticise the shit out of it. I am so tired of friends and family members telling me my films are great, either unwilling or unable to point out all the many flaws,  and I'm itching for a fresh view on my efforts to see what actually works and doesn't. As long as your criticism is constructive/helpful, valid (i.e. not an incredibly petty nitpick or flat-out falsehood) and presented in a pleasant manner, it will always be welcome here, as it should anywhere else.

So in answer to the original question, this is why I criticise: because if I didn't, I would not be doing my duty as a viewer.

Oscar Results 2017

Foreword: One year, these Oscar posts are going to have a consistent format. 2017 is not that year. Apologies if this upsets you for whatever reason.

Updated Viewing
So since my previous post a month ago, I have seen a further two films from the Oscars roster, and I feel the most appropriate thing to do format-wise would be to give each of these a mini-review before diving into the results.

First up, Hacksaw Ridge. Starting off, this felt like a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill war drama (you know: small rural village, young lad wants to fight the war, ripping off the first half of Full Metal Jacket). But once the plot moves to the titular Japanese battleground, things really pick up. Honestly, these are some of the best action scenes I've seen in any war film: on par with, if not better than, the opening of Saving Private Ryan. It's utterly brutal, but this second half is where the film's strengths truly lie, and it even becomes pretty inspirational. Definitely worth a watch, as long as you don't let its slower first half put you off. It can be quite difficult to stomach at times; partially because of the graphic injury detail and partially because of the couple noisily making out and talking throughout most of the first half in the cinema I was at. Seriously, even the most vaguely romantic moment seemed to set them off. Who goes to see a gritty WWII film for a romantic liaison?! Otherwise, I'd strongly recommend a cinematic viewing, provided it's still playing. 8/10, High Recommendation

Secondly, Moonlight. And before I go any further, why is this film such a ball ache to see in the cinema? My regular cinema up here was explicitly advertising it all over their lobby, yet come release day (which apparently was the 17th) and it's nowhere to be seen on their timetable, or any timetable for that matter. I was only able to see this film because the Vue spontaneously decided to show it on Saturday with only about a day or so of warning. Come on, guys. This is one of the highest rated best picture candidates and we're in the height of award season. Why hasn't this seen a proper wide release yet? Instead, the cinemas are currently dominated by other important and wholesome films like, to pick a completely random example, Fifty Shades Darker?

Why are you telling the film-going public that a piece of Hollywood trash that glorifies abusive relationships and misrepresents an already misunderstood sexual community is more worthy of their time and attention than an indie film that explores issues of sexuality and race, addressing and representing two neglected minority groups in traditional cinema simultaneously and providing them with a much-needed voice? What the fuck kind of message are film distributors trying to set?!

But I digress.

Moonlight was certainly an interesting viewing, although I think my experience of it was maligned slightly by the unreasonably high expectations set for me by the 99 metascore and the overwhelming amount of gushing from the Letterboxd community. It follows the story of a black boy as he struggles through the three stages of growing up, dealing with an abusive mother, bullying, and his own sense of identity and sexuality. It's a reasonably quiet and reflective film, surprisingly more lax than I was expecting, but I wonder if that may, in fact, be its weakness. The narrative conflicts never seem to completely justify the entire film: it feels like an array of B-stories, and I was left waiting for a great big A-story that would provide the biggest conflict for our protagonist to overcome, but there doesn't really seem to be one. Now, that may have been an artistic decision, and fair enough if it was, but it does mean this film isn't quite as engaging or satisfying as I feel it could be. For this, I am going to give it a slightly lower score, but I feel this film's very existence seems to be its own reward (something I'll explain in a little more detail later), so I still highly value it as the milestone in cinematic representation that it is. 7/10, High Recommendation

And now, the Oscars.

Best Animated Feature
So Zootopia did win, as I expected. I still haven't managed to see Kubo and the Two Strings so I can't really comment properly on it, but despite how much I liked Zootopia, it would be cool if Kubo got it: just for the sake of saving the dying art that is stop-motion animation, as well as for not giving it to the Disney-affiliated property all the time. I'm kinda getting tired of how predictable this category ends up being.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
I just wanted to note that Suicide Squad is now officially an Oscar-winning film. Suicide Squad has won an Oscar. "The award-winning Suicide Squad". A sentence about as absurd as "The moon is covered in jam" or "Donald Trump is the President of the United States"

Best Costume Design
Despite the cavalcade of awards going to La La Land, I do feel like this was one it also should have received. Mia's varying array of coloured dresses throughout the film were a central part of the film's aesthetic, and one of the most memorable visual elements. Fantastic Beasts on the other hand, seemed pretty standard for a period piece. At least the Harry Potter franchise finally has an Oscar. I guess.

La La Land
Speaking of La La Land, I think it might be easier with this format to just talk about all of its Oscars in one go. I was proud to see Damien Chazelle win for directing and Emma Stone for actressing. I'm also glad for the cinematography win, although I did really enjoy Moonlight's as well. In terms of music, this seemed like a no-brainer, and I did really enjoy La La Land's musical numbers (my fave is 'Another Day of Sun'), and despite it depriving Lin-Manuel Miranda of being the youngest person to complete the EGOT, I am still happy to see it win. One thing, production design. As cool as La La Land's production design was, I'm not sure if it was the best one of the nominees. I actually may have gone with Passengers in all honesty.

So maybe La La Land didn't quite sweep the technicals, but it cleaned up pretty well, even if it did miss the top spot...

...Best Picture
Well, what can I say? I don't think anyone can deny it was close this year, after what will probably go down in history as one of the most memorable and talked-about Oscar gaffes. For those who haven't heard, this is the shocking moment when after La La Land was declared Best Picture, the producer's acceptance speech had to be cut short to reveal that someone had screwed up, and Moonlight was the real Best Picture. Firstly, as memorable as this moment was, I can't even fathom how embarrassing this must have been for the hosts, and while they were great sports about it, it must have been a downer for the La La Land team (not that they hadn't had lots of other successes that night), I mean, how often does someone get an award as prestigious as an Oscar only to have it all be a big misunderstanding and having to hand it over to someone else. All I can think is thank god it didn't happen to an individual, especially for an acting award.

But hey, when I said it was going to be close between La La Land and Moonlight, I wasn't wrong, was I? And this did result in one of my favourite Oscar tweets, from M. Night Shyamalan claiming to have written the twist ending of the Academy Awards. But put all that aside and let's look at Moonlight as the Best Picture winner. Personally, whilst I liked La La Land a lot more, I think Moonlight is the more deserving winner, if not only for it being a milestone in cinematic representation of minority groups, something that I imagine this film will be long remembered for as the start of what will hopefully be a long line of films concerning lesser represented groups. See, despite what I was saying earlier about the narrative and engagement of Moonlight, I don't think those kind of criticisms are even particularly relevant when discussing whether this film deserves a Best Picture nod. And I'm not saying this film, nor any other, is excluded from criticism, but that to focus on the storytelling aspects and other critical elements in this case would be to miss the main point of why this film deserves Best Picture. Because it represents a step forward for equality: the most revered film institute possibly in the world has honoured Moonlight, an indie feature about representation of minority groups, with one of their highest awards, instead of, say, La La Land, a film with a mostly white cast that reminisces about the golden age of Hollywood. It's about looking to the future of a more diverse cinematic landscape, rather than focusing on the traditional white-washed western cinema of the past.

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

Either way, that wraps up another year of Oscars. As a challenge, I'm going to try and do one post per month this year, so hopefully I shall return at the end of March with a good ol' discussion of a rather misunderstood, yet vital concept to the viewing of cinema. See you then.

Oscar Nominations 2017

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to part one of the annual Oscar spectacular! So, before we start, a quick note about the format. If you remember last year's post, you may recall that I ended up doing a mini-dissection of each best picture candidate based on what I could glean from their IMDb blurb. Originally just a one-off idea, I actually quite like how that format turned out, so I think I'm going to keep it as a staple for my best picture discussions from here on out.

Unlike last year, however, I actually have something to say for quite a few of the other categories this year, so with that in mind, I'm also going to be bringing back the category-by-category discussion from 2015's post. Just one problem with this: this year's post is nearly 2000 words long. Now, I know that's not unheard of on this blog, but for an Oscar post, that is quite a lot (frankly, I'm just impressed that I managed to turn around a comprehensive post of this magnitude in only three days!). So buckle up, guys: this is gonna be a long one.

Best Picture
First, let's have a look at Arrival. I left it out of my top 5, but it's still a decent film, maybe just not quite as good as everyone keeps saying. The idea of linguistics being applied to understand a visiting alien species is fantastically creative, and the film was, on the whole, really well executed, but I felt the ending kind of lost me. It wasn't that it was confusing: I pretty much understood what was going on, it just felt a bit like it was being profound for the sake of being profound, kind of like Interstellar and its 'love is the 5th dimension' bullshit and that weirdness with the black hole (not spoiling, but if you've seen Interstellar, you know what I mean).

Of course, it wouldn't be the Oscars if there wasn't a token racism film, Fences. You know the drill: African-Americans living through the 20th century and facing racial discrimination, with the aim of teaching us all the innovative but bitter truth: racism is bad. Almost certainly to be forgotten, my apathy for Fences is only amplified by the fact it won't be playing in cinemas until 10th February.

If all goes to plan, I'll be checking out Hacksaw Ridge at some point this weekend, along with T2: Trainspotting (so much hype!). In the meantime, based on trailers and it's current position on IMDb's Top 250, there seems to be a fair amount of promise here. I get a sort of Saving Private Ryan vibe from it, only a little more colourful and luckily not quite as long. I don't think it'll win, but I'm interested to see it.

I'd very vaguely heard of Hell and High Water prior to the Oscar announcements. I've heard from a couple of people who have seen it that it is pretty good, and if it's anything like No Country for Old Men (which it kinda reminds me of), then there's a chance I might find some enjoyment here. If I've got a spare afternoon and it happens to be playing, I might go check it out.

I'm torn on Hidden Figures, because although it looks like more of your bog-standard Oscar-bait about contemporary social issues, in this case, a double-dosage of feminism and racism, I actually really like the sound of it. It follows a group of African-American women who played a key part in performing calculations for NASA's first space missions. With decent user and critic scores to boot, it looks like I might just be persuaded.

I think it's clear from just the sheer number of nominations it's got (a record-tieing 14), La La Land is going to be the critical darling at this year's ceremony. And you know what, I'm happy for it. La La Land was an absolutely fantastic and delightful modern update of the classic Hollywood musicals like Singin in the Rain, managing to perfectly blend modern cinematic visuals with the atmosphere and 'magic', for lack of a better word, of Hollywood's golden era, capturing the best of both worlds. My one niggle is that the film feels very much like a fantasy, somewhat divorced from reality, which is great, that's how this kind of musical should be. Which is why it falters a bit towards the middle when proper drama is introduced and it loses a little too much of its joy (probably the only time I'll ever criticise a film for not being light-hearted). In a similar vein, the ending bothers me too. But put that aside, and La La Land is a phenomenal achievement, and will, I imagine, remain my favourite of the Oscar picks: it's already become at least my second favourite film of 2016.

Before we get onto our last two serious candidates, there's Lion, more of your standard Oscar-bait. I've seen the trailer a couple of times, and frankly, it just bores me. I can't really see this being particularly memorable or talked about in the future, so why start now.

Which brings us to Manchester by the Sea, another film that I have actually seen. A poignant film about responsibility and family, I found it very enjoyable and actually quite funny, even despite its absolute sucker punch to the feels about half way through that really made this film stick in my mind. It's a worthy pick and well worth a watch.

Lastly, Moonlight, which is still weeks away from being released (the bastard), and the other big contender at this year's ceremony. Receiving absolutely glowing reviews from critics and festival audiences alike, this film is gearing up to be a very late highlight to the year. It's another story that features racial issues, but this one just looks so much more interesting and nowhere near as generic as Fences, for example.

Now, some predictions. Honestly? I think it's going to be between Moonlight, La La Land and Manchester by the Sea: I don't think any of the others are going to even come close. La La Land will sweep the technicals by sheer probability at least, I'm sure, and if I were a gambling man, then that's where I'd place my money for best picture, but Manchester by the Sea is certainly a plausible winner with its moving and down-to-earth drama: something the Academy often likes. Without seeing it, I can't say much for Moonlight right now, but something in my gut tells me it's in with a chance.

Best Actor
I imagine that Casey Affleck will snag this award, and he would deserve it, as his performance in Manchester by the Sea really held the film together and communicated his internal struggle and the pain of his past. A slight nitpick: I found he did a lot of mumbling throughout the film, probably could have done with a note saying that it's possible to do a tortured psyche whilst still maintaining clear diction.

As great as Ryan Gosling was (as he always is), I can't really see him getting the award this year, purely because I think Affleck achieved more with his role, but that's primarily because he had a more complex character to work with, so it's hardly Gosling's fault. One last note: until I looked it up, I honestly thought Captain Fantastic was another Marvel film, one that hadn't received its pocket money from Disney, causing it to ditch its marketing campaign in order to fund its prerequisite amount of destruction porn.

Best Actress
Amy Adams has done some pretty great work this year. She starred in both Arrival and the nearly-unmentioned Nocturnal Animals, which wasn't quite good enough to make into my top 5 but was still a notable and really engrossing film. Anyway, Adams turned in great performances in both of these, portraying two very different characters, each with their own emotional turmoil and each convincingly realised.

But fuck it, we're not going to give her an Oscar nomination. You know who does need one, though? Another one, that is? Meryl Streep. Of course. Ok, ok, fine. I'll admit, I haven't seen Florence Foster Jenkins, so it's kind of unfair for me to say that she doesn't deserve it, but it's a matter of principle. It seems Streep keeps getting nominated out of some kind of tradition, or perhaps laziness on the Academy's part. Either they put her name down because they can't think of anything else or they feel they have to nominate her just because it's the Oscars and her getting a nomination is just part of the checklist, like celebrity guest stars at the ceremony or thinly-veiled racism.

Best Animated Film
Think I'm gonna have to go with Zootopia on this. What can I say? It was just a wonderfully realised film that accomplished everything it tried to do and appeals well to both kids and adults equally. You couldn't really ask for more. I have yet to see Kubo and the Two Strings (although I'm hopefully going to attend a screening of it at my uni's student cinema), but I've heard incredible things, and I wish it luck, especially as a big fan and supporter (and even practitioner) of stop motion.

I've also seen Moana, and while it was good, it just felt a bit too much like the generic Disney formula to really stand out. Put it this way: if I can predict the key moments of your film's third act with near-complete accuracy, you might want to try and change it up a bit.

Best Director
I can't remember if I've mentioned it here, but since Denis Villeneuve is directing Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to one of the greatest films of all time and one of my personal favourites, I've been keeping a close eye on his work, watching Arrival and Sicario, and hoping to catch up on Prisoners, Enemy and Incendies in due time. What I've seen has impressed me, enough to be confident that Blade Runner's precious sequel is in safe hands, and I'd definitely say he deserves an Oscar.

At the same time, Damien Chazelle has also impressed me. Between La La Land and Whiplash, two of the most popular and critically acclaimed (and personal favourites) of their respective years, Chazelle is developing a pretty phenomenal track record, and already getting several well-deserved Oscar nods, and he's (hopefully) only just getting started. Overall, I think I'd rather Chazelle wins this year, but I'm sure they'll both get them in time, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.

Best Cinematography
Unfortunately nothing for Mr Deakins this year, but there has still been plenty of great cinematography on show. I think from the selection I'd have to pick La La Land, especially as I'm a complete sucker for long takes, of which it has several (and they're all magnificent), although Arrival still had some great efforts, especially in its establishing shots (just look at the poster!).

However, those who read my new year's post will be aware that my favourite film of the year was The Neon Demon, and part of what made me love it so much was its fantastic cinematography and use of music. Neither of which have got a nomination here. In fact, The Neon Demon has gone completely unmentioned in this year's awards. I guess I'm not massively surprised: I mean, it was hardly a mainstream film, and it didn't even do particularly well with the critics or even some audiences, but come on! This film is an audio-visual experience! I promise it's better than Lion!

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

I don't really have anything specific to say about this category. And regardless of how good Killer Croc's makeup was, I just wanted to note that Suicide Squad is now officially an Oscar-nominated film.

Suicide Squad....

Oscar-nominated....

Best Original Song
Another two nominations for La La Land. Moana had some pretty decent songs, but come on, the best song was clearly 'You're Welcome' by Dwayne Johnson; that song is awesome. Also, Trolls. Trolls is now also an Oscar-nominated film....

Best Original Screenplay

It's bothering me that The Lobster has been nominated for an award. Nothing to do with the film itself: I have yet to see it, but this was by pretty much all accounts a 2015 picture? I mean, it began its cinema run before some of last year's winners like Spotlight and The Revenant. Just...rather confused, is all.

And there we have it, that's this years' nominations. Tune in in a months time to see my thoughts on the winners, along with a more accurate look at the films I haven't yet seen. You know, all the '2016' releases that don't begin their cinema run until the middle of February. And I thought I left my work to the last minute...

See you all next time!