Bad Shakespeare Oscar Extra: Lighten Up, Everyone.

Ladies, Gentlemen, and I swear one day Nathan Fillion, the Oscars are officially over. Yes, the little statues have all be handed out, Entertainment news is packing their Red Carpet Teams back in boxes and putting them in warehouses like at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and we can go back to anxiously waiting for the next Fast and the Furious Sequel to kick off the start of the Summer of Statham. 

I originally wasn’t going to write up a Post-Oscar follow up, mostly because it follows my yearly tradition of not writing a Post-Oscar follow up. But you see, this year was different. Mostly because I didn’t have to be anywhere on Monday Morning, so I was able to follow most of what was happening on the Oscars in real time while flipping back and forth to WWE Fastlane, which, because Brock Lesnar only works twice a year and is somehow the champion, had it’s own issues. But that got me thinking about a lot of things that I wanted to talk about.

One, of course, is the “backlash but not really” to the winner, Birdman. Look, I understand that Birdman is a weird movie. Quite frankly, I’m a little bit frightened that Academy voters went in so heavy for a movie I liked so much. Not because I’m out of the mainstream or because I don’t want to like the favorite movie like most movie snobs out there, but because... it’s a weird movie. Seriously Best Picture of the Year probably should have gone to Whiplash, or Wes Anderson Quirky Movie #78. Hey, no one is happier than me that it won. (Except the director. And the Actors. And the production team.)  I’m just surprised that it actually did. It was an awesome movie, it was a weird movie, and it’s one that people will be talking about for a while.

Except movie snobs, I guess. 

I do want to talk for a minute about the favorite movie ever for a lot of people (The Dissolve went and and made it the best picture of the half-decade so far, and many a think pieces were written about it’s sheer greatness) and that was Boyhood. Look, I get the appeal, but it wasn’t a very good movie. It was too long, and mostly, it didn’t have a coherent story. I get that it was filmed over the course of 12 years, a cinematic feat! I joked that it’s not been seen since the Up Series when I wrote my mini-review for the marathon, but the truth is it’s a feat not seen since the Harry Potter series, which I guess did it in 8 years, but told a story. (Technically 7)

I understand that there is a problem in trying to tell a story like that, but you have to sit down at some point and say: What is this movie about? What is our end point, not just when we run out of film. I understand that Ethan Hawke doesn’t exactly have Gattacta money anymore, but what was the point of the entire movie? Even tell mini-arcs about him growing up. It just seemed to me that no one on the cast really knew what the movie was going to be about beyond this grand experiment to film it a little each year... and it’s been done. Remember in Harry Potter when it turned out Snape was the good guy the whole time? Yeah, two people knew that. JK Rowling and Alan Rickman. They knew it because it was important to the plot, the arc started in Harry Potter and the Magical Macguffin Part 1. Richard Linklater needed to know that about his character, and he didn’t seem to, even with him working one year at at time. The ending had all the urgency of a student who realized that he needed to turn in a paper or get an “F”, but chose not to finish it with the hopes of at least a “C”. I don’t understand why people liked it.

The other big complaint, was like I said, from conservatives bashing the non-win of American Sniper. This, of course, was held up as THE LATEST REASON LIBERALS HATE AMERICA. Look, if a movie HAS to win, that’s not a win, it’s a hostage situation. But it also pushes aside the other main point, and that’s this: there were over 400 films eligible to be nominated for best picture. Love it or hate it (please... hate it) Dumb and Dumber To was eligible for best picture. Transformers Age of Extinction was eligible, and that featured an extended justification for statutory rape. American Sniper was chosen above every. Other. Film. Except. For. Seven. Others. to make it to the top slot. Some would argue it made it over other films, including Nightcrawler, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Still Alice, The Fault In Our Stars... (For the record, these were ALL listed as early frontrunners when they appeared. I know some of them may not seem like it, but they were.)  These didn’t make the cut. American Sniper did. So, it’s not the latest reason for anything, except the need to push an outdated narrative. 

Basically, stop pouting because your movie didn’t win. That doesn’t make Birdman some strange outlier. It’s a movie a guy made. Some people liked it. They didn’t like the movie you liked as much as yours. It’s not some vast conspiracy against you. 

The problem is, especially when it comes to the Oscars, WAY to many people take it seriously. It’s an awards show. Because Wes Anderson Quirky Funtime doesn’t win, it doesn’t suddenly make it a bad movie. I still love it. (I keep calling it that because I can’t spell Budapest.) Movies are supposed to be fun. Even if they’re taking you to a dark place, it’s supposed to be a fun transformation. Paying attention so much this year made me realize that people pay WAY to close attention to it, and they need to lighten up a little bit. I mean... come on. Relax. I enjoy the movie marathon, because I like going to the movies, and having to sit and watch them all reminds me of that, and it reminds me of just how interesting movies can be. I think that some people need to step away from the hype for a little bit, relax, and enjoy it again. And that’s one of the reasons I liked Birdman so much. Because of that one scene... when he’s imagining (or slowly devolving into madness) the movie scene around him, wanting to have fun. I mean... in the middle of this sad comedy about a guy losing his mind and fortune, he reminds himself that he was once a dude in a bird suit, and people loved him for it.

So lighten up, everyone.

Oh, and everyone, stop complaining about the Oscars running long. You’ve seen them before. If they get in under a tight six hours, it’s a good night.

AMC Best Picture Showcase 2015... the Wrap Up

Well… the lights are up, and the movies are over! I hope you all enjoyed Bad Shakespeare and his movie Ranger’s coverage of the AMC Best Picture Showcase 2015. It was a long night… it was a snowy night.. and it was apparently an icy night. The Georgetown AMC Shut down at 6:00, but we still managed to rock the night away in pure awesomeness, movies, good friends, and movies. Yes, I said that twice. We saw eight movies.

Also, a real quick shoutout to the crew running AMC Georgetown 14. It was an awesome event, and it was because they all spent time iced in with us. So, I guess in some ways they didn't have a choice. But they decorated and kept our spirits up, even as people started leaving because the ice was really hitting.

Speaking of ice, for those of you who aren’t in Washington, DC, AMC Georgetown is, as it mentions, is in Georgetown. But, it’s in a strange place in Georgetown where there’s an overpass, and the place itself is underneath this overpass. So, say, for instance, you’re standing out front waiting for the pizza, and the snowplow comes to plow the overpass. It pushes stuff to the lower area. Like where you’re standing… waiting for the pizza. Yeah. I got snow plowed. It was fun.

We all had a great time in this year in interaction with the staff. Maybe it was being snowed in. Maybe it was that they enjoyed the cookies. They certainly enjoyed the cookies, provided by Benedict Cumberbatch enthusiast Kim. They even gave most of the Rockin’ Movie Ranger prizes! First for Bad Shakespeare for tweeting. Then because we were bold enough to have pizza delivered. And because we’re just awesome people who sat up front and managed to enjoy things. Mysterious Jerome and I managed to eat plenty of cookies, which was important to maintaining the balance.

Also, we did something a little bit different this year by managing to get Papa Johns to deliver three pizzas for our group in the middle of an ice storm. Everyone else was gone, but we had our own little pizza party in between Selma and American Sniper. 

Now, for a write up of the films themselves! I posted mini-reviews on Bad Shakespeare twitter and Facebook Page, but here is what we thought.

Boyhood: This is the gimmick film that filmed every year for 12 years, a gimmick not seen since 56 years ago with the Up Documentary series, or with Coffee and Cigarettes. Basically that’s the movie. One year of a boy’s life. The problem most of the Rockin Rangers found was that it didn’t really tell a story, and it didn’t have anything to do with it’s title… boyhood. It starts at a random place in his life. Then it ends, randomly, when he meets his college roommate. Plus, the acting in some of the teenage years borders on “after school special” quality. Yes, this is a lot of people’s frontrunner, but it may take some more viewing to really appreciate, but our group really couldn’t figure out what it is that made this movie so special, beyond its… let’s face it, gimmick. Tell a story. Not a random assortment of scenes. 

The Theory of Everything: This is a really good movie, so I felt bad referring to it as Stephen Hawking: Origins. It was basically this, movie, telling the story of Stephen Hawking as he invents time, then doesn’t get knighted, and manages to have three kids. (Good for him.) But this was an amazing movie that got a lot of “the big things” right. The scenes of Steven slowly losing his motor skills is extremely heartbreaking, and is really juxtaposed where he stood up at the end in his imagination. There were a few scenes that I was convinced that I was actually watching Stephen Hawking. It was just an incredible film.

Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): This was the only spot where we had a real split in the ranks. Bad Shakespeare loved it (as I’ve mentioned) but it was too weird for the rockin’ rangers. For those of you who don’t know about it the 20 times I’ve talked about it, but Michael Keaton plays a guy who once placed a superhero who decides to put on a prestige piece and yadda yadda yadda… METATHEATER! They dug the central gimmick of the one shot, but also found it too weird, specially when you throw in all the superpowers maybe superpowers, never mind here’s Michael Keaton running around in his underwear. Wasn’t the worst movie we ended up seeing, but ultimately, they didn’t have the same unabashed love for it that Bad Shakespeare showed. Oh, well. Can’t win them all. 

Selma: This was a gripping look at the events in Selma, the Civil Rights movement, LBJ, George Wallace, MLK… this had it all. It pulled from the real FBI Transcripts that were kept on LK during this time. We all agreed on this one that this is an extremely powerful movie, but none of us were prepared for the moment when the movie switched from the fictional movie to the actual footage. It’s a powerful reminder of history… one that is way too recent for us to think about. 

After this was dinner time! This is when we had Papa John’s bring us food! Because we’re awesome.

American Sniper: Ok, so I went into American Sniper with a certain prejudice. Not really against the subject matter, but the attitude around it that says, “if you don’t like this movie, you hate America!” It’s a movie. Everyone has their opinions on it, and I hate anything that tells me that we have to “like” something to “be” something. For instance, I didn’t like Passion of the Christ. It didn’t make me non-Catholic… it meant that I didn’t like the movie. That being said, the Rockin’ Rangers kind of agreed that we didn’t enjoy this movie. This movie was about Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal Sniper who was killed by a veteran he was trying to help. There’s no doubting that he was a hero. He was a real hero that saved a lot of lives. He should be honored. We didn’t feel that this film really honored that. It took away from a lot of the teamwork that’s associated with being in the military… including Snipers, who typically use a spotter. But it also followed the “Poochy Rule” from the Simpsons, which meant that if Chris Kyle ever wasn’t on screen, everyone would be asking “where’s Chris?”. Plus, there’s that one scene, an extremely dramatic, well acted scene in which to characters are arguing while holding a baby. Chris’s newborn daughter, adding to his drama of going back to war. But… they didn’t get a real baby. They had a fake baby, and it was OBVIOUS. The theatre was laughing the entire time. It’s a multi-million dollar movie about a hero. Let’s pay a little extra to get an infant on set. 

To clarify before I’m attacked: Chris Kyle did a lot and is a hero. The movie wasn’t good, in my opinion. 

Intimidation Game: The first half hour was pretty much indistinguishable from a good episode of Sherlock in which Martin Freeman just hasn’t show up yet. The movie tells the story of Alan Turning, his hidden (or not so hidden) homosexuality, and the fact that he built the first real computer that powers what I’m writing this blog post on. Powerful performances from everyone involve, and a pretty good movie that jumps back and forth through time at his time in boarding school, and working for the government in trying to stop Nazi messages in World War 2. It’s sort of like a spy thriller, but with a lot of history.

Whiplash: It’s a movie about drums. Well, a drummer at a prestige school in New York and the semi-abusive… ok, abusive teacher that tries to make him better or drives him slowly mad depending on your outlook. Also features one of the great “fight scenes” in movie history at the end. Again, another agreement as this was a film that came out of nowhere, really, on our collective radars. Not just top notch performances, but extremely top notch performances from everyone involved. Plus, there was that special bonus that they put the drumming movie on at 1, so… yeah. That helped. No black and white family dramas then wondering why everyone is asleep. 

Grand Budapest Hotel: We all fell asleep during parts of this movie. It’s Wes Anderson, and it’s about a hotel and the people who run it. It’s also a story within a story, within a story. Most of us had seen it before, and we loved it, but knowing it’s Wes Anderson and a hotel is pretty much what you need to know about this. Really good.

As for what we think will win? Ah, we don’t know. We know what we liked… we know what we enjoyed. And we know what we want to see again.

So, the chapter closes on another successful AMC Best Picture Showcase, the 24 hour edition. Thanks to everyone who made it happen.  Bad Shakespeare and his Rockin Movie Rangers will come at you next year for more movie excitement. 

AMC Oscar Movie Showcase 2015... a rundown of the events!

It’s that time of year again, boys, girls, and Nathan Fillion who I don’t think knows this blog exists but I’m going to tag him on Twitter until he responds. But welcome... to AMC’s Best Picture Showcase, 2015! We’re going to be live blogging the ENTIRE THING, so stay tuned, because the posts are only going to get weirder probably around 1:45 a.m.

Nah, They’re all going to be weird.

As with every year, it’s time to meet your crack team of Bad Shakespeare’s Movie Rangers who will be covering this mega event for you. 

First up is Bad Shakespeare a.k.a Me... your loyal blogger who has not only done this three years running, but is handsome while doing it. My interest includes about 400 posts worth of stuff, so get reading. Having seen 2 of the movies running, I can tell you that my frontrunner is Birdman.

Next up is Marissa, the queen of making sure we’re prepared. Marissa is a kitten enthusiast from just outside of New York. As her queenship implies, she is prepared for every incident from tums to a helmet, “just in case.” 

Then we have the queen of cookies, Kim!! I say this because she makes cookies. She better be making cookies. Like, if she shows up and there’s no cookies, my first response is, hey... where are the cookies? Cookies. Anyway, Kim is a Benedict Cumberbatch Enthusiast who’s interests also include Bradley Cooper and Eddie Redmayne. 

Next up is the mysterious Jerome, who’s mysteriousness is only matched by his ability to be an enigma. He does not provide cookies. 

Last, however, certainly not least, is Kati! Kati enjoys Netflix and has known Bad Shakespeare longer than everyone on the list. (Actually longer than everyone on the list, combined!) And yet still hangs out with me, so... yeah. That will tell you all you need to know about your sanity. Kati’s likes include telling me to stop talking about Birdman.

Here is the breakdown of the times of all the movies. 

10:00 a.m. Boyhood
1:05 p.m. The Theory of Everything 
3:30 p.m. Birdman (a.k.a The movie I think should win)
5:50 p.m. Selma 
9:00 p.m. American Sniper 
11:30 p.m. Intimidation Game
1:45 a.m. Whiplash (a.k.a thank GOD they put a movie about drums on at 1:45. That's not a joke. I'm glad.)
3:45 a.m. Grand Budapest Hotel 
6:45 a.m. We all sleep, cocoon like, until Monday.

Want to follow all of the excitement and fun? We'll be posting all the fun, excitement, and silliness over on Bad Shakespeare's Facebook page (click the link to bring you to the page, then "like" it while you're there), or, of course, follow me on Twitter at @shakesbad. 

Then tune in here on Sunday for the full rundown of events!!

That’s it. Your guide through this madhouse for the next 24-ish hours. (There’s only eight movies this year, so it’s not ACTUALLY 24 hours.) 

Also, there better be cookies.