A little underwhelmed with these nominees: War for the Planet of the Apes, Kong, I, Tonya, Molly's Game

1/27/18 War for the Planet of the Apes and
Kong: Skull Island, nominated Best Visual Effects, 2017

There's really not a whole lot of reviewing that is needed here, in my opinion. I barely watched Kong: Skull Island, it's not like there was a complicated plot. It's probably more notable for the cast which included Tom Hiddleston, a special services kind, with tracking skills (I didn't buy it); Brie Larson as a photographer; Samuel L. Jackson as a Lieutenant Colonel; John Goodman and John C. Reilly. They're rebooting the "Monster Franchise", and that's fine, but get rid of the humans and let the monsters play. War for the Planet of the Apes has a little more substance, a stronger story, and neatly ties up this most recent trilogy of the world of apes. The apes are battling a group of humans, some of the apes have gone to the human side. Caesar (Andy Serkis) is trying to lead his clan of apes to safety, but of course, it's not that straightforward. One of his confidantes betrays them and goes to the humans, and the apes are ambushed. Woody Harrelson is the primary human in the movie as the Colonel. He's ruthless in his desire to wipe out the apes. There's a bit of a twist when Caesar's adviser, Maurice, finds a mute human child and takes her so he can care for her and protect her, much against Caesar's wishes. My favorite character (well, I liked him a lot) is Steve Zahn's "Bad Ape"; Bad Ape was in a lab where humans did experiments; he can speak and he brings a little light heartedness to a pretty dark film (which could go either way, but I appreciated it). If you have to pick, I would go for War for the Planet of the Apes; if you have a free Redbox night, maybe go for Kong: Skull Island, if you've seen everything else.

1/28/18 I, Tonya, nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Editing, 2017 

As I sat watching I, Tonya on Sunday, one repeating thought was "did this movie need to be made?" and the answer that kept coming back was, no, not really. Strangely (it may seem), that didn't take away from the fabulous performances by Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding or Allison Janney as her abusive mother, LaVona Golding, but my life would have been fine without seeing this "based on real life and events, but maybe not totally" film. If you don't know or don't remember, Tonya Harding gained her infamy after her chief skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan, was attacked prior to the 1994 Olympics. Harding wasn't part of the actual attack, but her husband, Jeff Gillooly (or was he her ex-husband, I lost track) and her 'bodyguard' conspired to hire two knuckle draggers to do it; the movie indicates that Harding and husband only meant for threatening letters to be sent to Kerrigan. Let me back up a bit; the movie starts out with Tonya, at 4 years old, getting figure skating lessons, and winning competitions at an early age. This is in spite of (her mother would claim because of) her mother's habit of berating, humiliating and hitting Tonya. There is a bit of humor as Janney delivers her lines with a straight face, even as the audience knows she's twisted and as her bird bites at her ear. Both Janney and Robbie are transformed by make up and hair, making them almost unrecognizable. Gillooly is played by Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), and he is also unrecognizable. He plays Gillooly as an idiot and a brute, and there's little sympathy, or empathy, coming his way. There is no doubt that Tonya Harding had a helluva life, and overcame incredible odds, and lost it all because of the people around her, and probably decisions she made, but Robbie/Harding says frequently to the camera "it's not my fault", and that seems Harding's way of absolving herself of any responsibility. Janney could pull of a win, I think Robbie is going to have a tougher go of it going up against Frances McDormand, Saorise Ronan and Sally Hawkins. I don't think you're missing anything if you wait for home video or skip it.

1/28/18 Molly's Game, nominated Best Adapted Screenplay, 2017

I might have ruined this for myself by reading Molly Bloom's book before seeing the movie. It's not that there's a ton of suspense, but I kept comparing what I read to what was appearing on the screen, and some of the movie came after the book ends. It is based on a true story; Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) finds herself running what runs into one of the biggest underground poker games in Los Angeles, and then in New York City. All seems to be going well until certain events trigger interest from the federal authorities. Molly hires Charlie Jaffrey (Idris Elba) to be her lawyer, even though she doesn't have any money, and she's reluctant to part with certain information. Aaron Sorkin (Newsroom, The West Wing) wrote the screenplay and directed, and as much as I loved some of his other work, I was sadly underwhelmed. Perhaps I shouldn't have had such high expectations. Not only was I comparing Molly's Games to the book, I was also comparing it to Miss Sloane, which also starred Jessica Chastaine as a woman who frequently outsmarts the people around her, and which I loved so much more than this. It's good, not necessary to see on the big screen, but it's worth the Redbox rental.