Tag Archives: Oscars 2018

Paddylast Inc’s Oscars 2018 Predictions!

Posted on March 4, 2018 | Leave a comment

It’s that time of the year again to give out the film industry’s highest honors in Hollywood, and I have a feeling that there’ll be a bit of a surprise in what most assumed were already ‘locked’ categories.

Best Picture: This is going to be an easy pick for me. As much as I’d love for The Shape of Water to win this award, I have to give it to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. From a technical perspective and in terms of the story, The Shape of Water hands down wins this one, but it feels like, based on the most recent winners from this category, the voters tend to lean towards something that has a stronger and more in-your-face social impact. Three Billboards doesn’t have the subtlety that Del Toro’s film has, so that alone hurts The Shape of Water’s chances.

Most Likely to Upset: The Shape of Water

Best Director: This should go to Guillermo Del Toro. He may not win Best Picture, but The Shape of Water is arguably his best work to date, and it would be an injustice not to give him this nod.

Most Likely to Upset: I want to say that this is already locked for him, but for shock value, I’m going to say Greta Gerwig for her directorial debut in Lady Bird. This scenario is highly unlikely, but I won’t be that mad if she steals this one from Del Toro.

Best Actress: (Locked)
I’ve seen all of the films of the actresses nominated in this category, so it’s kind of difficult for me to regard anyone as THE BEST. With that being said, I feel like Frances McDormand is already locked in to win this. Sally Hawkins is a good second choice, but McDormand just happened to sweep all of the precursor awards, so there’s that.

Best Actor: I’d be in the minority right here predicting an upset by Timothée Chalamet over the season’s frontrunner Gary Oldman. I initially pegged Oldman as locked to win this, but I have this nagging feeling that this would be the biggest upset of the night. Chalamet’s performance in Call Me By Your Name does seem like a once-in-a-blue-moon performance from such a very young and promising actor. In comparison to Oldman’s stunning portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Chalamet didn’t need the help of prosthetics to actually translate something extraordinary onto the screen.

Most Likely to Upset: Timothee Chalamet to Gary Oldman’s frontrunner position.

Best Supporting Actress: (Locked)
I don’t even know what to say about Allison Janney. She’s just simply sublime in I, Tonya.

Best Supporting Actor: (Locked)
Sam Rockwell’s portrayal of a racist police officer is entirely believable; it’s so easy to get angry at both the actor and the character he’s playing. That’s how effective he was. This is a solid performance, and no one even comes close.

Best Original Screenplay:
The Shape of Water – Guillermo Del Toro & Vanessa Taylor

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Call Me By Your Name – James Ivory

Best Animated Feature Film:
Coco – Lee Unkrich & Darla K. Anderson

Best Original Score:
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – John Williams

Best Original Song:
Remember Me from Coco by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Best Cinematography:
Blade Runner 2049 – Roger Deakins

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Victoria & Abdul – Lou Sheppard

Best Production Design:
Blade Runner 2049 – Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola

Most Likely to Upset: Victoria & Abdul

Best Costume Design:
For something about Costume, this should be locked for Phantom Thread.

Most Likely to Upset: Victoria & Abdul

Best Film Editing:
Dunkirk – Lee Smith (Locked)

Best Sound Editing: (Locked)
Dunkirk

Best Sound Mixing: (Locked)
Dunkirk

Best Foreign Language Film:
Una Mujer Fantastic a (A Fantastic Woman) from Chile by Sebastian Lelio

Most Likely To Upset: Sweden’s The Square by Ruben Ostlund.

Beat Visual Effects:
Blade Runner 2049

I don’t have any basis for the documentary features, so I won’t make any predictions for those categories.

Leave a comment

Posted in Others

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Film Review: Lady Bird (2017)

Posted on March 4, 2018 | Leave a comment

The Dixie Chicks once asked the questions – who’s never left home? Who’s never struck out? I think that most of the time, it’ll come to a point in our lives that we are ‘Lady Bird.’ I said that because when we’re young, there’s always this feeling that our world is too small for us, that we wanted to explore what life has to offer, what this world is waiting to show us. We want something so much that we persevere to get them. Sometimes doing things that we didn’t think was wrong when we did it and ended up regretting but at the end of the day, we have this sense of fulfilment.

Lady Bird are those feelings so cleverly translated by Greta Gerwig into a film. This coming of age film so brilliantly led by Saoirse Ronan is a tale as old as time that just works in so many ways because that is basically everyone of us when we’re at the cusps of adulthood.

Ronan playing the eponymous role was as usual terrifically sublime as the rebellious daughter who won’t let anyone hinder her aspirations – not by her friends, her school advisors and definitely not by her mother played by the equally wonderful Laurie Metcalf. Sometimes, it’s almost painful to watch their interactions or more of altercations because there’s vulnerability in both of their characters that everyone would relate to. You’d probably point out, hey! That’s me with my daughter – ouch! or that is me and my mom/dad sometimes!  Ronan and Metcalf made their chemistry as mother and daughter so palpable that it resonated so much with so many people.

Gerwig tried to snatch a lot of wigs for this film and she did so fabulously! Lady Bird is a cult classic waiting to happen. I wouldn’t even be mad for a sequel!

At the 90th Academy Awards, Lady Bird has received five nominations that includes Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading and Supporting Roles and Best Original Screenplay.

Director: Greta Gerwig

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts, Beanie Feldstein, Timothee Chalamet.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Leave a comment

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Film Review: Dunkirk (2017)

Posted on March 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

The film is a narrative of the successful evacuation of the Allied troops from Dunkirk as the Nazi Army advances to the French city. The battle of Dunkirk depicted one of the historical catalysts that made the people in Europe come together against the war propagated by the Nazi regime.

The Academy gave Nolan’s film eight nominations including his first directorial nod, Best Picture and Best Editing. The latter I wholeheartedly agree and would predict this film to win said category. As for Nolan’s vision, I feel that the whole thing was well-executed, the way he played with our emotions but didn’t really hit the mark of capturing the essence of the topic. This was Dunkirk glossed over. There was too much technicality, hence the great editing, but it lacks the gravitas of what really transpired in those days. Yes, we see them soldiers fighting for their lives to stay alive, to be able to survive and be with their loved ones but I somehow find it devoid of motivation.

I thought it was critically overrated but at the end of the day – I still enjoyed it more than the Darkest Hour so that at least should be a consolation. Despite the measly character development, I’d still give it a 3 star ratings because it’s Nolan being Nolan and on a technical spectrum, this is heaps better than most films from last year.

Dunkirk scored eight nominations at the 90th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Production Design

Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Jack Lowden, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Hardy, Harry Styles
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Leave a comment

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Meet & Party with Timothée Chalamet & Armie Hammer via Omaze!

Posted on February 19, 2018 | Leave a comment

If you’re like super rich, you still have a chance to travel to Los Angeles, party and meet Timothée Chalamet & Armie Hammer by donating to wo incredible causes, bye entering HERE: http://bit.ly/Timothée-Armie-YOU

You could win a trip to celebrate with the Call Me By Your Name cast at their pre-Oscar party! Deadline is until February 25!

Speaking of Call Me By Your Name – James Ivory just snagged the Best Adapted Screenplay at the recently concluded BAFTA Awards! Congratulations!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , ,

Film Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Posted on February 19, 2018 | Leave a comment

via impawards

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri for me felt like an examination of how deep the connection a mother has with her children and how far she’s willing to go for them. In the film, Frances McDormand’s character Mildred Hayes boldly put up three billboards that questions the authority for seemingly not doing anything about her daughter’s murder.

McDormand’s portrayal of grief – misplaced or not – that is not only seen but felt. It is so palpable on screen it makes you feel her anger and frustrations. All of her solo scenes are nothing short of sublime.

 

Then there’s Dixon – a xenophobe police officer in Ebbing. I’ve to admit that I was a bit uncomfortable with Sam Rockwell’s character. A portrayal which reminded me so much of his evil character ‘Wild Bill’ in The Green Mile. He was so effective here that his character angers me so much..

It’s funny that this picture so thoughtfully reminded me of the very divided America now under Donald Trump. Dixon (Rockwell) feels like a personification of what everything Donal Trump represents pre-reading the letter Chieft Willoughby have written for him.

This isn’t just about the fight of Mildred Hayes for justice. I want to believe that this goes deeper than that. This is a representation on apathy and how evil humans could get. Was I convinced by that ending? By Dixon’s redemption? Not quite, but as Chief Willoughby told Dixon thru a letter – all we need is love. Cringy but worth contemplating.

Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones, Kerry Condon, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Amanda Warren, Peter Dinklage, Kathryn Newton, John Hawkes, Samara Weaving, Clarke Peters, Brendan Sexton III
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The film received seven nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for McDormand and Best Supporting Actor nominations for Harrelson and Rockwell at the 90th Academy Awards.

Leave a comment

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Film Review: Darkest Hour (2017)

Posted on February 18, 2018 | Leave a comment

Going into this film, I was really just looking forward to watch the transformation of Gary Oldman into former British Prime Minister and historical icon Winston Churchill, and I am telling you, it was just mesmerizing. I didn’t see Gary Oldman in it, and not because of the prosthetics and heavy makeup, but because it felt like he really was Winston Churchill.

This one is going to be a quick review, though, because I honestly didn’t get anything out of the story aside from Oldman’s stellar performance. I mean, let me put it bluntly – it was flat from start to finish. It doesn’t have a defining moment (again) aside from Oldman himself. If not for him, I’d have walked out midway through it.

It was nominated for six Academy Awards, and surprisingly, also for Best Picture, probably because of its technical merits.

Not really for me. 😌

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn, Lily James, Ronald Pickup, Stephen Dillane, Nicholas Jones, Samuel West, David Schofield, Richard Lumsden, Malcolm Storry

At the 90th Academy Awards, the film earned six nominations which includes Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Costume Design.

Leave a comment

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Film Review: I, Tonya (2017)

Posted on February 12, 2018 | Leave a comment

I, Tonya follows the life of figure skater Tonya Harding and her involvement to the attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. It features interviews of the characters in between sequences. Margot Robbie plays the titular role while Allison Janney plays her mother.

There was this one word I thought of after watching this film – riveting. Margot Robbie’s intense portrayal of Tonya Harding is a spectacle similar to the latter’s public persona. Robbie, Janey and Sebastian Stan who plays Harding’s husband did a triumvirate of sublime performances that should be honored and perceived to be their best work to date.

Allison Janey playing Tonya’s vindictive Mother was such a delight on screen. You’d hate her like you didn’t know you could hate someone as much. She’s always in the zone with every scene she was in and it was not the ‘in your face’ kind of thing but in a subtle yet very effective way. Her Oscar nod was a a truly deserved one.

I thought a lot of critics underrated Stan’s performance here but I loved how he reciprocated Robbie’s vulnerability and angst as a struggling figure skater wanting to get the recognition she believed she deserves. Plus, he is utterly charming!

And then we have the biggest revelation of the year – Margot Robbie. She obviously didn’t get an easy role right here but from the get-go, she soldiered on and was simply mesmerizing on screen. Margot Robbie’s phenomenal portrayal of Tonya Harding is one unforgettable performance that deserves more than one Oscar. In the movie, she is REALLY Tonya. The struggle, the pain, the success, the vulnerability and the burst of emotions she was able to convey on screen was a clear testament that Margot Robbie is a force that will only get stronger given the right roles.

Incredibly well-crafted, this movie deserves to be watch by more people and be inspired by this brave this brave Tonya they tried to portray. I’m not sure how accurate they portrayed the events and characters here but Margot Robbie made me like Harding right here in contrast to what I’ve read about her in the past and in her most recent interviews. Regardless, this movie just blew my mind!

Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The film received three nominations: Best Actress for Margot Robbie, Best Supporting Actress for Janney and Best Editing at the 90th Academy Awards.

Movie Poster courtesy of impawards

Leave a comment

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Film Review: Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Posted on February 11, 2018 | 2 comments

Twice I’ve seen the film on the big screen since its commercial release in the country on January 31st, and twice I’ve been affected by it in such a way that no other films I’ve seen in a while have made such a strong impact. If you’ve not read the book of the same name where the film was so brilliantly adapted by James Ivory, you won’t miss out that much. There are a few deviations from it, but overall, it was an almost faithful retelling of Oliver and Elio’s story—a summer love affair between a seventeen-year-old Italian boy, Elio Perlman, and an American university professor, Oliver, who has been selected to live in Elio’s parents’ home as a guest “resident” while finishing a manuscript for publication.

The number one thing that I’ve noticed while watching the film is how sedate it was. There’s the beautiful landscape of a northern Italian countryside that transports you to its 1983 time period. The relaxed vibe of the film juxtaposed with the heaviness of its plot, mainly Elio’s struggle to understand and accept what he feels towards Oliver.

Timothée Chalamet truly and utterly made me feel what Elio felt. He totally owned Elio’s character—every roll and flick of his eyes, every nuances in his voice, especially when he asked Oliver not to go. I am in so much awe of his brilliance—so young and yet with so much potential.

Chalamet and Armie Hammer had an incredible chemistry here that makes you root for them. The compatibility was there, and all throughout the film, you can feel their characters’ connections.

I’d also like to praise Michael Stuhlbarg’s portrayal of Elio’s father. Mr. Stuhlbarg is beautiful, and his performance is simply sublime. I’m very surprised that Hammer got more acting nominations than him for this film. He was simply delightful to watch.

This adaptation actually made me appreciate the book a little more. I wasn’t that fond of it, mainly because of Oliver, but this version right here made me like him. Hammer made me appreciate his character.

Overall, I believe that this film does not need many dialogues or any major special effects. It’s wonderful as it is. Luca Guadagnino so brilliantly captured the beauty of human emotions in Elio, Oliver, and the rest of its casts. It’s quiet, but it’s so full of life. It prompts introspection and gratitude for our own support systems, mirroring the unwavering support Elio receives. It goes beyond the headline-grabbing love story between two guys, and delves deeper into the profound love present in familial bonds. The film truly deserves all of the accolades it has received.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois

The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Chalamet), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ivory), and Best Original Song (“Mystery of Love”) at the 90th Academy Awards.

2 Comments

Posted in Movies

Tagged , , , , , , ,