The big award show is upon us: The Academy Awards aka the Oscars! It also marks the end of the award season (well, the big award shows). It’s the top dog, the mother of all awards. It’s a pretty big deal if you win. So, I always try to watch all the movies nominated. It doesn’t always happen, there are a ton of movies that get nominated! But, I did watch a good chunk of them this year. Including 7 of the 8 films nominated for Best Picture (because I’m waiting to watch The Revenant with my husband, sorry, that’s what a wife’s gotta do sometimes!) BUT, #Oscar4Leo because, come on, he needs to win one!
Anywho, here are mini-reviews of a few of the movies nominated for an oscar & what they are nominated for (not all nominations, just the bigger awards)
For a complete list of nominees visit this master list!
The Big Short
Directed: Adam McKay
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
Rated: R
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Christian Bale), Directing, Writing – Adapted
This is an oddball movie. I was unsure what the tone was. Was it a comedy? Was it a drama? Was it a dramedy? Does that even exist? I don’t know. It’s about a group of people that predict the credit and housing bubble collapse and decide to “take on the big banks” to make an insane amount of cash when it happens. It’s based on a true story, and as you can probably imagine, it’s a pretty serious topic. However, the first half was sprinkled with humor and quirky scenes like Margo Robbie in a bathtub explaining the housing market to the audience. Then, the second half is pretty dramatic. It wasn’t a terrible movie, but it had a bit of an identity crisis.
Bridge of Spies
Directed: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda
Rated: PG-13
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Mark Rylance), Writing – Adapted
Based on the true story about an American lawyer, James Donovan, who is recruited to defend a Soviet spy and help with an exchange of the spy for a captured American pilot. This is not an action-packed movie, instead, it is about political negotiations, gives the audience a quick glimpse of the Cold War and its impact on Berlin. I found this movie to be very intriguing and emotional. I could feel the political tension throughout, then Tom Hanks would bring in a bit of humor (not laugh-out-loud, but subtle nervous-humor during tough conversations. Does that make sense? I don’t know, hopefully). It was a fantastic film.
The Martian
Directed: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Rated: PG-13
Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Matt Damon), Writing – Adapted
Before I begin, I want to say that I have not read the book yet. So my opinion is based solely on the movie. I think most of you know what this movie is about by now, but just in case, it’s about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and survives through his ingenuity. I think this movie is fantastic. It was suspenseful, humorous and I almost cried (don’t judge). Can I just say, though, this isn’t a comedy – what the heck Golden Globes?! I mean, yeah, Mark Watney has a good sense of humor and tries to keep his spirit high, but it is not a comedy… to me, at least.
Brooklyn
Directed: John Crowley
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson
Rated: PG-13
Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Writing – Adapted
Brooklyn is about Eilis, an Irish immigrant who comes to America in the 50’s. She falls in love with a local, but finds that, when her life in Ireland catches up to her, she must choose between the two places. Okay, I’m not even going to try to sound like an adult right now — OH MY GOODNESS, this movie! The feels! I just can’t even express how lovely this movie is. My eyes got “watery” at least twice. 😉 If you want a good love story, watch this movie!
Steve Jobs
Directed: Danny Boyle
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen
Rated: R
Nominated for: Best Actor (Michael Fassbender), Actress in a Supporting Role (Kate Winslet)
I love the way this movie tells the story of Steve Jobs. It doesn’t follow his entire life, it tells his story through three of his product launches – the launch of Macintosh, Next, and iMac. It’s quick glimpses at how his relationship with his friends and family changes, for better or worse. Even though the story is told on three nights in Steve Jobs’ life, it did it wonderfully. On top of that, Winslet and Fassbender did a fantastic job with their characters.
Carol
Directed: Todd Haynes
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson
Rated: R
Nominated for: Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Actress in a Supporting Role (Rooney Mara)
Carol tells the story of a young photographer’s relationship with an older woman who is in a loveless marriage and going through a difficult divorce. I’m no professional movie critic, so maybe I missed what was so fabulous about this movie. While the score was beautiful and Cate Blanchett was outstanding, I didn’t feel the connection. Blanchett and Mara (Rooney) lacked the chemistry to pull off a convincing romantic relationship. The story is touching and most likely a realistic view of being gay during the 1950’s, but I just did not feel the romance and tension like the film-makers intended.
Room
Directed: Lenny Abrahamson
Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, Sean Bridgers
Rated: R
Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actress (Brie Larson), Writing – Adapted
Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue about a woman and her 5-year-old son who are held captive and finally escape, regaining their freedom. I think I may still be a little too emotional to be able to properly explain my thoughts on this movie (literally, my notes just say THE FEELS! THE TENSION!) but I’ll try. This movie is absolutely fantastic. From the opening scene to the end, it is just a phenomenal film. Brie Larson’s performance as Joy Newsome, the captive mother, was chilling. Even Jacob Tremblay, who plays her 5-year-old son, Jack Newsome, gives a wonderful performance for such a young boy. The tension, especially, in the beginning, leading up to their escape, reaches out to your heart and tugs as hard as it can. If this movie does not win at least one award, I will be very surprised! (Also, the screenplay was written by Emma Donoghue herself.)
Spotlight
Directed: Tom McCarthy
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery
Rated: R
Nominated: Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Mark Ruffalo), Actress in a Supporting Role (Rachel McAdams), Writing – Original
Based on the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the scandal of child molestation within the local Catholic Archdiocese. This movie had an excellent cast with Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and John Slattery. They all did a fantastic job in their roles. My favorite was Liev Schreiber, who I am so used to seeing in action films, that it was refreshing to see him in a more serious role. The film-makers really grasped the seriousness of the topic from the sullen music to the tone of the dialogue. It has you thinking about the importance of, and maybe even the lack of, truthful reporting and the separation of church and state. It left a bit if a chill at the end, especially if you aren’t familiar with the scandal.
Joy
Directed: David O. Russell
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper
Rated: PG-13
Nominated for: Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)
I’m not Jennifer Lawrence’s biggest fan (I know, I know! Not her as a person, though, her acting) but this movie was a pleasant surprise! It is based on the true story of Joy Mangano, a woman who created her own business empire and became a millionaire, all starting from a simple Wonder Mop. While the beginning was a bit slow-going, when it finally picked up with was both funny and heart-wrenching. Lawrence’s performance, while not without its flaws, was still great. The movie will have you laughing, maybe shedding a tear and most of all, will leave you inspired.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Directed: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Rated: R
Nominated for: Best Picture
Okay, don’t get me wrong, this was a fun, crazy movie – but nominated for Best Picture next to all the other nominees? That was crazy to me! This is basically one long car chase, filled with explosions and Max grunting a lot. This is definitely a wild card.
Do you watch the Academy Awards?
Who do you think will win for the big awards (best picture, actor, actress)?
10 Comments
From the list I’ve only seen The Martian and Mad Max and I liked both-I see why Mad Max is up for Best Picture, but I struggle with The Martian. It was a good movie (and an even better book), but it wasn’t anything special to me? Those both are up for Best Picture and I’d chose Mad Max, hands down 🙂
Oh wow! That’s surprising. Out of those two, I’d choose The Martian. I thought Mad Max was fun, but I didn’t find it to be Oscar worthy. Tom Hardy just grunted through the whole movie. When my mom saw it, she didn’t even know he was supposed to be Max! hahaha xD I think if Mad Max wasn’t up against some really great emotional and “deep” films, it would have a better chance. It was just so random to be thrown against movies like The Revenant (about a hunter who has to survive in the woods after being mauled by a bear) and Room (about a girl who was kidnapped and raped, then escapes with her son 7 years later) it would have a better chance. But hey, the unexpected can happen!
Oooh forgot about The Revenant! I actually really disliked that movie, but it could be because of my phobia of bears-I had to close my eyes for the first half of the movie lol.
I actually haven’t seen it yet xD It’s the only Best Picture nominee I haven’t seen haha & yes, a phobia of bears would probably cause a dislike for that movie!
I always, sadly, seem to see very few of the Oscar nominees. But an interesting list this year. I agree about Mad Max- I liked it (a bit) but best pic? No, sorry. Not even remotely that good. Should have been called Mad Furiosa- she was infinitely more interesting than he was. But I digress… and I can’t even comment intelligently on most of the others as I haven’t seen them. I do know about The Martian of course but still haven’t seen it.
Nice to see your take on these though- I’m seriously asleep at the switch on current movies I guess.
Agree 100% about Mad Max. He just kind of grunted through the whole movie. Even when my mother saw it she wasn’t sure if he was Max or not xD lol Don’t feel too bad, I didn’t watch any of these UNTIL I found out they were nominated haha
The only one of these I’ve actually seen is The Martian and, unfortunately, I didn’t like it very much. It actually took me a few days to get through the entire movie… Then again, I also DNF’d the book, so maybe that isn’t surprising. I do really want to see Room because I LOVED the book when I read it way back when. Awesome reviews!
Tracy @ Cornerfolds
Ah, I really enjoyed that one! It was really interesting to see how he survived, especially since NASA said it’s all pretty scientifically correct. I haven’t read the book, though. I feel like I might get a bit bored with the book. Room was great! I haven’t read the book for that one either, but my goodness, the movie…I cried like a baby xD
I have yet to see all of these! I want to see The Martian, Joy and Brooklyn, but I haven’t had the time to do that! Glad to hear you enjoyed watching these three – makes me even more excited to see them (sometime soon I hope!)
Brooklyn was just so freakin’ good. I highly recommend that for a good love story. Hopefully you get to see those soon 🙂