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A Star is Born (2018)

Yeah, no. I gotta disagree with the consensus on this one. I found it shallow, inauthentic and a bit boring. The music was meh.

They had this big plot to get through with a bunch of boxes to check; some of the moments on the path were pretty good, but other times I found it forced. Character reactions to things often did not feel organic.

I would be amazed if Lady Gaga does not get a Best Actress nomination. She may well be the favorite to win. I simply disagree. She is a good performer of music - so give her a Grammy. Her acting is inconsistent.

This was Bradley Cooper's directorial debut. No idea what kind of future he may have. I'd need to see what he does with some non-recycled material and no big pop star. :dunno:

4.8 out of 10


iu
 
Mudcat
one of these very self-indulgent directors. I'm not big on that.
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. . . which brings us to Spike Lee

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

It has been quite awhile since I have seen a Spike Lee movie. I simply don't like his style and will auto-skip anything with his name attached. I would not have watched this movie if not for my certainty it will be in the mix at the Oscars (and I have my long-standing thing where I always watch all the Picture/Acting/Directing nominated movies no matter what).

In this case, that would have been my loss. It's good. It has a few eye-rolly directorial self-indulgences but just a few.

It is another based-on-a-true story property which is significantly contrived and manipulative for dramatic purposes - but no more than, say, Bohemian Rhapsody (or Argo or a zillion others).

It's simply good. It's interesting and thoughtful and topical - effectively suspenseful - the performances are solid.

7.4 out of 10.


iu
 
Wow. The Oscar nominations were announced today and Roma is nominated for Best Picture - which is not a huge surprise to me based on the buzz - (it was not nominated for the Golden Globe - although I believe there is a rule that disqualified it. I believe it has to be English language for that??) - but anyway it is okay for the Oscars AND - the wow part for me - it is the betting favorite right now. -122

I did not see that coming.

Hopefully a decent d/l of it will show up soon. I couldn't find it last weekend.


I'm kinda glad to see that sanity is prevailing and neither A Star is Born nor Lady Gaga are favorites. That shit is just not good enough.
 
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Based on a play by Tennessee Williams and set in New Orleans.

My first re-watch. I think I was too young to appreciate this film the first time I saw it.

Not all of the acting is great but there are great performances. First and foremost, Marlon Brando. He’s a bit mesmerizing in this. Although he was nominated for one, Brando did not win an Oscar.

Vivien Leigh did (kind of a head scratcher).

Tennessee Williams once said: “America only has three cities: New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.”

While I tend to agree, doesn’t that mean America has four cities?
 
Mudcat
Vice (2018) I feel a sigplay coming on. I'll be checking the odds on Christian Bale for Best Actor the minute the Oscar nominees are announced.
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Damn, this is one of those things. Christian Bale and Rami Malek are co-favorites. Currently, Malek is +103 and Bale is +115.

:clueless:

So it is that age-old story of one being massively more deserving (Bale) - but that doesn't mean the voting will go that way.

Case in point, last year's Best Picture where it went to the silly, two-dimensional The Shape of Water over the million-times-more-substantial Three Billboards.

You never know what these maniacs are going to do.

No sigplay yet.

🤔
 
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

I don't know what to say about this. There is a whole lot to feel bad about here. It is the polar opposite of movies like Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody that twist themselves into knots to manipulate and please the masses.

IBSCT does not give a shit about that. At all. It is strict realism. And the result is that, like writer/director Barry Jenkins' previous effort - Moonlight - it only gets seen by myself and three and a half other people - plus members of the Academy.

It has a faster pace than Moonlight, but not the same punch-in-the-gut finish. They are both haunting though.

As far as my Oscars mission, IBSCT is not a Best Picture nominee. It has only one nomination in the big categories, Regina King for Supporting Actress. She is the betting favorite right now - and I am making a sigplay out of it. I'm not sure I would vote for her, but looking at the odds and with my feel for how these things go, I am going for it.

As for the movie, hmmm. There are some big problems with a pointlessly distracting soundtrack at times. There is a lot of feeling bad and no particular ending. But it really is haunting and astute. Hmmm.

6.9 out of 10

iu
 
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

It's not nominated for Best Picture nor should it be, but I guess it's basically watchable. Slight thumbs up. It's a barely-a-footnote story of some crappy chick who turns to low-level scamming to pay her bills. The whole movie is about making it seem more significant than it was.

A couple of the performances are nominated. Melissa McCarthy is bafflingly up for Best Actress. She did a competent job but Best Actress? Sometimes I have no idea what these people are thinking. Her odds currently sit at +4616.

Richard E. Grant was very good in his Supporting Role.

Overall? 5.3 out of 10.

iu
 
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