Movie Recommendations - Edition: This year's Blockbusters (Part 4): Oscar Nominees Best Picture 2017

My interest in Oscar nominated movies has continuously increased during the last couple of years to the point that this year was the first one where I actually stayed up till 7 am in the morning to watch the Oscars live and have now watched all Best Picture nominees which I am interested in. I don't plan on watching Fences, Hell or High Water, Lion and Manchester by the Sea, so this post won't include them.

Apart from these four here's my ranking and my recomendations of this years Best Picture nominees:

1. La La Land

I feel like, you either love or you hate this movie and I'm loving it! (I've actually written a whole post about it already.) I've watched it twice yet but wouldn't mind watching it over and over again. There's music and dancing and LA and great costumes - what's not to like? But it was on a deeper level that La La Land truly spoke to me. I adored Ryan Gosling's character for being so obsessed with Jazz. I enjoyed both of them following their dreams though I enjoyed it even more when they failed. Because failing is part of the deal. You won't get anywhere without failing multiple times first. La La Land managed to bring this across while still leaving you with an optimistic feeling.

Also, the second time I've watched this movie I realized that the main couple was from the start far from perfect which makes the ending that much more reasonable. I don't want to spoil it but yes, I also love the ending. I think Damien Chazelle is a fantastic screenwriter who manages to create a dream like lovely feeling while still telling a story which feels utterly true.

2. Arrival

I was really looking forward to this movie and I wasn't disappointed. Not only is it Sci Fi with aliens visiting earth but also it's about a linguist. I study literature and I love that someone who studies language for a living is the hero of a movie. The movie was well made, though the camera was a bit too calm at times for my taste.

The story in itself was incredible. I was sceptical in the beginning if they would manage to bring all the sub-plotlines together in the end so that they have an impact on the main plot (because there's nothing worse than redundant telling) but they did it. Plus, in the end we find out that the main plot is not what we expected it to be after all. But you have to watch it, to see what I mean, because the suprise of this development (and believe me, you will be suprised) is really what makes the whole movie. We think it's about understanding the alien language, but in truth it's about so much more.

3. Hacksaw Ridge

This is a World War 2 movie about a very religious soldier who refuses to carry weapons. Of course first he's ridiculed for this decision but later he becomes a hero (a true story by the way). This movie was not as brutal as I've heard from friends. I mean obviously there's a lot of blood because it is a war movie about a medic but it's totally bearable. I liked the story and there was really nothing wrong with it. If you love war movies like I do, it's definitely worth the watch.

4. Hidden Figures

I actually watched this one in the movie theater. And it was fun. It's about four black women working for NASA. This was an unexpectedly light movie with many funny moments. I enjoyed it but it's not nessecarily a movie I would re-watch. It does combine two of my favourite topics: astronomy and women empowerment so there's nothing wrong with it. But somehow it didn't stick with me so much. I'm a sucker of Follow Your Dream movies which this one is but my problem was, that the message was actually: You can reach everything, if you're incredibly smart like these women. Which I'm not.

5. Moonlight

So, the actual Oscar winner is on the last place in this ranking which doesn't mean that it was bad in anyway. It was a very well made movie, especially in terms of cinematography. It's split in three parts and tells the story of a black gay boy, later teenager, then adult. It's the story of his sexuality and first love. I would have loved to see more of the society he lives in and of the drug dealer who becomes like a father to him and who was hands down the best character in this movie. After all Mahershala Ali won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for it, which is why I was disappointed that he only appeared in the first third of the movie.

Also it kind of threw me off that neither the actors of the main character nor of his love interest looked alike though the ages - the adult versions of them looked nothing like the teenager versions. But maybe I was just spoiled by Boyhood (Oscar nominee 2015) which had the same concept but was actually filmed with the same actor over 12 years. Additionally, for my taste there were too few and too long scenes so that thoughout the movie nothing really happened. It wasn't a bad movie but I think they could have made more out of it.

Do it with passion. Or: Why Lalaland made my soul sing

Last weekend I watched Lalaland and considering that I already heard so many great things about this movie and was convinced that it just can't go wrong, I was not suprised that I liked it. What I was suprised by, is how much I liked it. How I loved it. And why.

Sure I'm a sucker for muicals, I loved the singing and (especially) the dancing. The main actors where fantastic and the love story was cute but honest. But none of this was what made Lalaland stand out to me. Lalaland was extraordinary because of its message: Follow your dreams. Live your passions. No matter what you have to sacrifice for it. No matter how many times you fail, keep going, and eventually you'll get there.

My favorite scene was when Ryan Gosling tried to convince Emma Stone to stop hating jazz. It touched me so much how passionate he was about jazz because this is what life is all about. No, not about jazz, but about passion. No matter if you love music or acting or books or football or flowers or the sound snow makes when you walk in it the first time - be passionate about it. Be weird. Freak out about it. Tell everyone how awesome it is. Celebrate it. This is the whole secret of happiness: Do it with passion.

Ryan Gosling's character loved jazz so much that it was essential to his surviving. It was the one thing he couldn't live without. He just couldn't stand to watch it disappear because he deeply believed that the world would be a worse place without jazz. If you love something as much as he loves jazz, then you're doing it right.

So here's to the ones who dream:

Movie Recommendations - Edition: This year's Blockbusters (Part 3): The Revenant and Hateful Eight

I have kind of a hate-love-relationship with awards, because on one hand I find awards pointless and watching all the rich people makes me sick, but on the other hand I've already written my accetance speech. Nevertheless, the Oscars are for me a great input into which movies I should check out this year. So far, I think that last years blockbusters where better alltogether with outstanding movies like the incredible Birdman, the beautiful Boyhood and the emotional rollercoaster Wild and of course with the genius Interstellar. I yet have to write my review of American Sniper, which I've also watched.

From this years nominations I still have to watch a few more but so far I've watched Mad Men (which I'm not reviewing because I don't really know what to say about it except: really cool images but a pointless story), The Revenant and Hateful Eight.

The Revenant

Well, it's a Leonoardo diCaprio movie, so my expectations of it were really high because to this date I've never seen a movie of him which disappointed me. But also I heard some negative things about it from several friends. Let's just say, the Revenant was a well-made movie and there's really nothing wrong with it but it didn't completely blow my mind as I hoped.

The thing which I found a bit disappointing was that in the end the whole movie was just about this one major asshole and about revenge. As it stars Leo diCaprio I was expecting some message against exploitation of Native Americans or something similar. But the motive for the actions were mostly pretty mundane (revenge).

Neverheless there's nothing wrong with a good survival story. The Revenant impressed me most in the scenes which showed Leonardo DiCaprio on his own. Seriously, I could just watch him crawling though the forest, eating raw meat and doing drastic things to survive for three hours. In those moment it was like I don't even notice that time is passing, Of course, Leonardo diCaprio did a fantastic job and I admire what he went through for this movie (especially because in real life he's a vegetarian). But still I don't think that it was his best work. I think that some of his previous roles were more Oscar-worthy.

Of course director's Alejandro González Inárrito and cinemathographer's Emmanuel Lubezki (who are both brilliant and both also worked on last year's oscar winner Birdman) work was great as always. But then again, how hard is it to make landscapes look majestic. It's a lot harder to make mentally instable actors in New York look magestic, which they managed to do in Birdman.

The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight was a very well-made Quentin Tarantino movie. It is a very typical movie of the famous director. The setting follows Reservoir Dogs, the characters remind me of some characters from Inglorious Baterds and the humor is close to Pulp Fiction. The idea is as simple as it's old: Trap all your characters with all their secrets and emotions and problems into one room and see what happens. In The Hateful Eight the room is a hut and the thing which traps them is a blizzard.

The setting was beautiful and the characters interesting. It was funny and witty and suprising and you didn't really know who the good guys and who the bad guys are until the very end. Every Quentin Tarantino fan has to watch this movie. I think on a scale for the cult movie Pulp Fiction on the top end to the awful From Dusk Till Dawn at the bottom end, Hateful Eight is somewhere in the upper third, between Inglorious Basterds and Kill Bill.

Have you seen The Revenant or The Hateful Eight? What did you think of them?

Movie Recommendations - Edition: This year's Blockbusters (Part 1): Boyhood, Birdmand and Wild

This year's Academy Awards inspired me to take a break from the Fantasy and Sci Fi movies and Girl Chicks I usually watch and direct my attention to the really big movies of the year: A theory of everything, Boyhood, Birdman, American Sniper, Interstellar, Selma and Wild.

I still have to watch The Theory of Everything, Selma and American Sniper. I have watched Interstellar but this movie is so mind blowing that it deserves an own post which will also include astrophysical background knowledge (coming up soon!). So in this first part of the This year's Blockbusters Edition of my Movie Recommendations I'm gonna talk about the unique movies Boyhood, Birdman and Wild.

Boyhood

The speacial thing about the making of Boyhood is that it was made over 12 years, casting a 6 year old totally ordinary boy as the lead character. Boyhood shows this very boy's childhood and youth. It is simple, concentrating on real life challenges like dealing with his mother's changing partners, following his dream of becoming a photographer regardless of the fact that noone beliefs in him and falling in love for the first time.

Despite its simpleness, Boyhood doesn't feel dull or unspectacular but on the contrary. It is the decicion to portray real troubles of real people that makes this movie so speacial. I felt with the characters so much because I have been there (not so long ago), I know what it feels like to figure out what to do with your life - hell, I'm still there. I've never seen a movie that's such a correct and beautiful representation of life.

Boyhood won't make your heart beat faster but it will make you feel.

Birdman

Where to start with describing Birdman? Birdman is the story of a movie actor who is trying to make it on Broadway. There are several interesting angles to this movie. First, the main character keeps talking to Birdman, his alter ego and role of his life, and you keep wondering if Birdman is a real creature or if the main character is simply going nuts. 

Second, the supporting actors of Birdman are fantastic! Emma Stone as a recovering drug addict is tragically beautiful and Norman Reedus as a narcissistic actor is pure perfection. None of the characters is likable but they are all in their own way excentric. This is what I loved most about this movie.

Also the filming itself is outstanding. The colours, the light, the camera angles - Birdman is filmed in a new and revolutionary way. I have never seen anything like it. This is the new era of motion pictures. Kudos, to the cinematographer on this one.

Wild

I just watched Wild yesterday and Oh All my feels! Wild is the story of a woman who has lost control over her life and who is trying to find back to the person she once wanted to be through walking the Pacific Crest Trail.

If you're looking for a lot of action in a movie, this one is nothing for you. There is a lot of walking, a LOT of walking. But there is also a constant voice off which grasps the different aspects of life beautifully and totally on point.

Renee Zellweger does a great job portraying a woman who has lost everything that always mattered to her. She is such a tragic character but at the same time she is incredibly strong. To see the determination with which she keeps on walking hit me right in the heart. Honestly I cried throughout the whole movie, sometimes I cried because life can be such a bitch and sometimes I cried because oh I know her feelings all too well and sometimes I cied because I was just so happy because of a teeny tiny success story.

I tell you, this movie is pure beauty. Watch it with someone who doesn't mind you crying like a baby. Go through the whole thing, let everything out and then, at the end, observe how you feel better and stronger and more optimistic about life in general. Because through all the pain, Wild is a movie that makes you wanna live. It makes you wanna go out and travel and fight until you're out of breath. And then it will make you go on even farther and even harder. And in the end it will heal you.

Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think of them?