- Bridge of Spies
- Brooklyn
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- Room
- Spotlight
- The Big Short
- The Revenant
- The Martian
WHAT SHOULD BE HERE: Creed
Creed is the seventh installment in the Rocky franchise from director Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan- the duo behind the great Indie film Fruitvale Station. The film is basically a re-telling of the original Rocky, yet done through today's modern lens. Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Johnson, the illegitimate son of the late, great Apollo Creed. Unlike Rocky Balboa, Adonnis comes from great wealth thanks to his father. Yet he still walks around with a chip on his shoulder (again, thanks to his father). He moves to Philadelphia and convinces Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train him to become a great fighter and to make his own name.
Creed is electric and it sparkles thanks to Coogler and Jordan. The cinematography is spectacular and the camera moves with grace and beauty. But most importantly, you become invested in Adonnis' journey thanks to Jordan's charisma and Coogler's script based upon Aaron Covington's drafts. It's the time of film that you can't help but fall in love with, and it's a shame that Warner Bros. didn't realize what kind of film they had on their hands until it was too late in the Oscar game. If the studio's believed in Creed like they should have from the get go, then Creed would have a butt load more nominations that it actually received.
QUICK THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS ON THE NOMINATIONS:
BRIDGE OF SPIES: A very good film about The Cold War that's really pure Oscar bait thanks to the fact that Steven Spielberg has lost his touch. This is an interesting story that should have been in the hands of a hungrier director.
Click here to read my full review of Bridge of Spies
BROOKLYN: Easily the most charming film of the year. It's a delight, and literally the perfect date movie. It's the type of romantic story that Nicholas Sparks should aspire to write.
Click here to read why Brooklyn is the most charming film of 2015
MAD MAD: FURY ROAD: This is a film that I didn't particular like or enjoy (I thought the film could have done a better job making me care in the first act about these characters so that I would have been invested in the second and third act) but I respect the hell out of the nomination. People fucking love this movie and everything but the script itself (again mainly the first act) it amazing.
Click here to read how The Dark Knight paved the way for the award season success of Mad Max: Fury Road
ROOM: I really, really wanted to like Room, and I just didn't. It's not that it's bad, but I just didn't care for it. I will say that everyone else who has seen it seems to freaking love it, and they all say to know as little as possible about it going in (and definitely do not see the trailer). Again, I don't agree with the nomination, but I respect it.
Click here for my thoughts about the benefits of The Academy nominating a film like Room
SPOTLIGHT: I have written exhaustively about Spotlight this award season, and unfortunately, there is only so many times I can say, "the film is really, really good." Spotlight is really, really good. Go see it if you haven't already.
Click here to read my review of Spotlight and how it fared during awards season
THE BIG SHORT: This film is basically an Econ lecture full of two-dimensional characters that explains to you at a very high level what caused America's financial collapse thanks to the bursting of the real estate bubble. It's an incredible piece of film making by directed Adam McKay to make this lecture funny, engaging, entertaining, and gut-wrenching.
Click here to read about Adam McKay's hatred of big banks
THE REVENANT: The Best Picture front runner is gorgeously shot and very well made, but it's also an overrated dumpster fire. I hope it doesn't win a single Oscar.
Click here to read my review of The Revenant
THE MARTIAN: Although The Martian is a drama about an astronaut being stranded in space, it separates itself through its humor and its positive outlook of mankind. Just don't read the book ahead of time.
Click here to read my review of The Martian
IF I HAD AN OSCAR VOTE:
Click here to read my list of the 15 Best Films of 2015
WHAT SHOULD WIN: Spotlight
WHAT WILL WIN: The Revenant
DO YOU THINK EITHER SPOTLIGHT OR THE BIG SHORT WILL UPSET THE REVENANT? LET US KNOW ON TWITTER OR ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE!
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