AMC Oscar Movie Showcase 2016 Recap

        

        It’s the Sunday after the AMC Best Picture Showcase. Which means, among other things, I’ll be spending the rest of my day in a cocoon, unable to hear the word “popcorn” without having terrible flashbacks to midnight and some desperate moves to stay awake. Like hitting that fourth bag of popcorn at midnight.

But we had to do what we had to do.

The Marathon my friends and I attended once again was at AMC Georgetown, where the crew goes out of their way to provide a spectacular event, not just a bunch of movies shown back to back. We get a real show, from a red carpet to pictures in front of a marquee, to prizes and a continental breakfast. They even went out of their way this year to remind people to not use their phones, and to kindly shut the hell up while the movies were playing.

As i do with every year, I’m going to give a brief rundown of the movies and my thoughts on them. Keep in mind, I’m not a professional film critic in that… well, the only real qualification I can see for being a film critic is to watch movies and give opinions on them, so many be I am a film critic, in that I give opinions on movies. But keep in mind, these are my opinions, and just that. If you don’t like them, as a man much smarter than me said… well, that’s just like your opinion, man. This year, I’m using a grading scale for my scores.

As another wise man once told me, all grades are subjective. It’s just an easy guide. Also, I grade these a lot harsher, because they’re Oscar movies.

10:30 a.m. - Brooklyn

After getting settled in and shoving a few people out of the way to make sure we got the seats we really wanted, our first movie was Brookyln. It’s about an Irish woman who seeks a better life in America after escaping her Irish town. The movie itself was very well crafted and it it holds the distinction of having the only scene in all the Oscar movies in which the main character has to use the restroom in a bucket on a ship that is being tossed through the waves. If Leo doesn’t win this year, expect to see him do it next year, too.

I liked this film. It’s a sweet love story: Irish girl meets Italian Boy, goes back to her hometown after marrying Irish boy, gets sucked back in. It’s subtly nuanced in the idea that it is our attitude that can make what is around us. Or something like that. Here’s the thing though… Best Picture? Not really. It’s just that in the end, a sweet story. But it doesn’t innovate, or try to tell a story in a bigger picture. It’s a small story, and quite frankly, while it is still probably one of the best films of 2015, I’m wondering why it got picked over a lot of other movies out there.

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: B.

12:46 p.m. - The Big Short

Fun fact, I won a shirt with “The Big Short” on it after answering  trivia question about Will Ferrell correctly. Take THAT everyone who said that my knowledge of Will Ferrell was useless. 

Anyway, this is the movie about the people that predicted the financial collapse in the early 2000’s. As the movie puts it, “the series of oddballs and losers who figured it out.” Of course no one listened to them. What I really liked about this movie was the lengths it went to get you to care about material that is normally dryer than the toast that Elwood likes to eat in the Blues Brothers movie.

I shouldn’t have had to explain it that much. you should see Blues Brothers, too.

Anyway, it uses some interesting ways to explain how these bad deals work, such as Margot Robbie in a bubble bath (which I’m proposing everything be explained from here on out), Anthony Bourdain making stew, and Selna Gomez losing 10 million dollars at the Blackjack table. This is all done to the audience, breaking the fourth wall, including in other innovative ways, like explaining that this scene didn’t really happen, or it really happened that way. Which was bold, but for a movie with a subject matter that was apparently so boring no one cared bout when it took place, and people STILL aren’t caring about despite the fact that it could happen again, it’s pretty interesting.

Also, screw Babadook and It Follows. THIS is probably the scariest movie of the year. 

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: A

3:20 p.m. - Room

Whew, boy. I’m about to get attacked.

I didn’t like Room. 

Now, before you bring out the pitchforks and torches, let’s touch on a few things. Adapted from the book, Room tells the story of a young woman and her son who are trapped in a shed. Joy had been kidnapped as a teenager and repeatedly raped by a man only known as Old Nick, eventually resulting in her son who just turned five. 

My opinion of it had nothing to do with the subject matter or the performances. Quite frankly everyone involved in that movie should win some kind of Oscar for performances.

My problem is that it’s the safest possible way that you could play that movie. It was an episode of Law and Order: SVU without the moralizing from the detectives tacked on to the end.

What made Room, the book, so interesting was that it was told through the eyes of Jack, the young son of Joy who is the product of this relationship. The book was darker as it told the story through his eyes, forcing the reader to pick up on extra cues, learning how he views things. Room and Old Nick are just facts of life for him, and the terror and tension comes from this lack for understanding. The outside world, again, is presented through this lack of understanding. But the movie spoon feeds as much of the material as quickly as possible to get to the tense parts. Again, I felt that the performances should be lauded. The movie… just kind of took up space from other, better movies that should have been nominated. 

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: C+… for the acting.

After Room was dinner. Which was nice, because our group got burgers and let out our best Leonardo DiCaprio jokes because the next movie was…

6:25 p.m. - The Revenant

The movie tells the tale of pure hatred in the face of being mauled by a CGI bear, then someone killing your kid, then having Native Americans attack. Also something about pelts. There was a lot happening in this movie. I’d like to cover it all, but I don’t have the space (maybe I’ll revisit all of these later) But suffice it to say, Leonardio DiCaprio did act his hardest as Hugh Glass, a man betrayed and left for dead after the aforementioned CGI Bear attack. Which was graphic.

Also, if you play dead and the bear starts to walk away, maybe you play dead a little longer and not invite the bear to attack you again. Just a thought.

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: B

9:30 p.m. - Spotlight

Here’s where the watching gets tough. Not just because this was about a newspaper covering the Priest Abuse scandal that everyone only remembers through jokes and not a real problem, but because it’s getting late and we’re at the halfway point. The movies are good, but fortunately we have a varied list this year… from small town Irish Drama to post Apocalyptic Thriller. 

What was interesting about this movie was in the way it was filmed, I felt that everything was moving forward at all times, which again, isn’t easy with it’s subject matter. Its almost as if a movie like Room thought it could play it safer with the story being told because it was interesting, whereas The Big Short and Spotlight HAD to movie forward in ways that kept people engaged. It forced them to innovate, if forced the actors to work the script in different ways. I liked the risks it took… the way it portrayed the victims, the way it recalled the way people refused to believe this at the time, the subtle adversarial relationship the Cardinal had with the newspaper. It was really well done. So much could have gone wrong with this movie, but this, to me, was the first real contender of the night. 

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: A

Midnight - Mad Max: Fury Road.

Midnight is my favorite part of the movie marathon. The theater is emptying. they always step it up with something interesting... But there's magic right now. We've been watching films for 14 hours, with another 7 to go. I love movies. Marathons like this are a dream come true for me. People ask... How can you do it. I know it's not an endurance contest, or a great feat. They're referring to how I can sit passive for so long. But it's not passive. It's getting into the film, laughing or gasping with everyone. It's a shared experience, and once a year I get to live out for a full day with my friends and people I see only once a year. I love this. It is my magic.

I’ve analyzed this movie to death in another post. It’s a beautifully constructed film that deserves to be up in this spot, but too many snobs and critics who have long lost their joy refuse to admit it. I’d love to see this win for so many reasons. From the V-8 symbol of the hands, to the use of color and practical effects, to the film that never makes you feel like you’re stopping… a perfect movie that took risks. 

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: A+

2:25 a.m. - Bridge of Spies.

Spielberg and Hanks. It’s a combination as stable as Charlie Sheen and jokes about how hard Charlie Sheen parties. Sorry, I haven’t gotten much sleep. 

It’s a cold war thriller, based on a true story, about the guy that has to do the job no one else wanted, to defend a captured spy so he could be taken into basically a Kangaroo Court while showing everyone that American Justice is the best Justice. Its a job that no one would take today, because, as the film puts it, “[he was] seen as a traitor by the more ignorant part of the population.” I feel that’s too much these days. But it’s about a brave man doing brave things in the face of all opposition. As we all pointed out… Steve Spielberg knows how to tell a story. He knows how to construct and engage everyone from the first couple of scenes. It’s truly remarkable. 

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: A

5:10 a.m. - The Martian 

This is the other movie i’ve written about. (And I’ve seen.) I could write further about it, but basically it’s the same: It’s the Anti-Gravity, the movie that was supposed to be groundbreaking about Sandra Bullock being stuck in space. Except this time we get an uplifting story about a man who defies all the odds to survive on Mars, and makes jokes about it. Again, this movie took risks with the storytelling, giving us basically a one-man show of Matt Damon farming space potatoes to live. Worth it to watch him science the shit of of the situation.

Professor Bad Shakespeare’s Grade: A

So, that’s it. 22 hours of movies, endless buckets of popcorn, tons of Leo and bear jokes, and just a great time. What do I think is going to win tonight? I think the movie that the Academy votes for is going to win, which isn’t always the “best.” The Best is a matter of taste and perspective, and even if the Academy votes on 99% of the ballot you have in front of you, the one thing we’ll hear about is the one they got “wrong.” Despite the fact that this is an opinion contest, not a fact contest. 

Which one do I want to win? I’d love to see them give it to Mad Max: Fury Road which took real risks with its filmmaking. No adapted story, a large, sprawling epic wrapped up in a small story, a world built within seconds on the screen, no spoon-feeding to the audience, no reliance on pandering through CGI… When I think movies that deserve it, I think movies like this.

Who do I think it’s going to get it? Hell if I know. I’m just a guy who likes watching movies.

Summer Movie Season: Mad Max: Fury Road Review

First a note: I’m very aware of the manufactured controversy surrounding the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, and the people that don’t want to see it for whatever reason. I don’t care; I go to the movies to escape my problems for two hours, not to pretend to get offended at things don’t exist. So... this is a review of my experience. If you believe that there was something inherently offensive snuck into a post-apocalyptic movie that featured an eyeless guy playing a flaming electric guitar, please understand that none of this is real. Thanks.

I went into Mad Max: Fury Road with pretty low expectations. Not that I didn’t hear it was the Greatest Action Movie ever (tm), but any time a movie is a remake of something that was last popular back when Mel Gibson wasn’t crazy; you’re going to be a little skeptical. I’m also going into Jurassic World with the same caution despite my natural love for all things Chris Pratt mixed with Dinosaurs.

Turns out I didn’t need to be THAT concerned. This movie blew away my every expectation. All of them. This was one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. (A little behind Kingsman, that one still stands up as the best.)

The movie takes place after a global apocalypse, the cause of which is never really explained but there’s a lot of deserts and not a lot of water. Max, a former police officer haunted by his past, is just trying to survive and keep his head down in the new Environment. Our first images of him are standing next to his extremely modified car, killing a mutated lizard for a morning snack, looking out at the desert pretty much set the mood for the rest of the movie: he’s a man torn between doing the right thing and wanting to survive. He’s quickly attacked and captured by Immortan Joe, the tyrannical leader of a nearby settlement who keeps people in line by controlling the water supply. He’s quickly marked as a Universal Blood Donor, and he’s used as a “blood bag” for a young War Boy named Nux. The real plot is set in motion when one of Joe’s lieutenants, Furiousa (played by Charlize Theron, proving she’s probably one of the best actresses on this planet... Captain Marvel, anyone?) is sent to get gas and bullets. She goes off course and it’s discovered that she’s “liberated” Joe’s Five Wives, the five women he’s specially selected for breeding and all the ickiness that entails.

Obviously, Hijinks ensue. 

What follows is basically a long car chase movie as Joe ramps up his heavily armed and stylized army of “War Boys” who fanatically follow him with a religious fervor. This includes the aforementioned flaming electric guitarist, which might seem excessive in other movies, but fits in quite nicely in this one. 

As I said, I really liked this movie. After last week’s disappointing Hot Pursuit, it was nice to get back into the Summer Movie Season fold with a stylized action movie that focused on things like practical effects enhanced only slightly with CGI as opposed the latest version of look at what this computer can make us do. I’m not completely knocking CGI, but for every Hulkbuster or Ultron or even Caesar, it’s brought us a Jar Jar Binks or wondering just who we are supposed to be rooting for at the end of the latest Transformers debacle, or even a fully CGI Kevin James taking the fall at the end of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. (There have been two Paul Blarts, but still only the one Serenity. Wrap your brains around that, people.) But the movie is clear when in the beginning Max steps on the CGI lizard then hops into his very real car.

The use of practical effects is what elevates this movie to one of the better action films I’ve seen in a while. The title of “best” action film still probably falls to Shoot-em Up, a parody of action films but understands what this movie does, that action needs to be incorporated into a movie to help tell a story, not as part of a way to stall things going forward so we can see boom boom more explosions and action. When Max, early on in the movie, is tied to the front of a car in order to provide blood to Nux, it’s more than just a chance to get the star into the action, it’s showing the religious fervor, it’s to show that the violence here is going to be something happening to the main characters instead of caused by the main character, and it adds an extra element of danger to the piece. 

Speaking of Nux, I think it’s important to highlight this particular character. A lot of thinkpieces about the peace highlight the film’s practical effects (as I just did) or the use of women  but they ignore this important character. When he meet him he’s hurt and needs blood from the main character, and is so willing to sacrifice himself to Joe that he repeatedly puts himself in danger. There’s a great moment that sort of bookends his story where he sees Joe twice. The first time Joe turns his head to look at Nux, and the young boy is elated with the idea that he’s being noticed. The second time Nux has already come to his epiphany that perhaps Joe is not the great man he originally thought. His character arc is probably the most compelling moment in the movie, going from brainwashed War Boy to willing to die for another cause, to save these women. His evolution is important, and the movie is just as much about him as it is about Max and Furiosa. 

The other standout is Charlize Theron as Furiosa, who decides it’s time to save these women and deals with her own crisis of faith, trying to get them to “the Green Place” where she had been taken from as a child. She conveys a lot with her screen time, and brings a lot to her action sequences, which once again tell a story. The first time she fights Max she is clearly trying to establish dominance, but at the same time she’s clearly fighting for a cause, and that makes her a lot more fierce in her quest. Basically this is a movie about faith, and the varying degrees in which we may have to change that faith when we open the world around us. 

Like I said, enjoyed this movie. It pulls together a lot of elements to tell a real story and crafts a movie into something amazing. Give it a shot, even if you aren’t a traditional Mad Max fan. 

Nine out of Ten.