It's been a while, a pretty long while as a matter of fact. I have no excuse. So, without further ado, here we go.
4/2/19 Mary, Queen of Scots, nominated Best Costume Design and Best Hair and Makeup, 2018
I know I said I didn't really have an excuse, but I think I am going to blame Mary, Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan as Queen Mary and Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I. Yup, that's my story. When I initially heard about the movie, I was excited because the Elizabethan period is so lush with characters and intrigue and costumes. Sadly, that excitement left pretty quickly. I would say as soon as I heard Queen Mary speak with a Scottish accent, I was disappointed. It didn't stop there. Oh, let me clarify, even though Mary was Queen of the Scots, she was raised in France and wouldn't have had that accent. It didn't stop there, from casting decisions to not great acting to a not great script and a total disgregard for history (there may have been a teeny tiny disclaimer that they were just using history as a suggestion, but I didn't see it). It is pretty to look at, but I wouldn't spend two hours watching this land of make believe. In case you didn't pick it up from the other clues, the movie focuses on the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth, cousins and rivals. Whew, crossed that one off the list.
4/2/19 Mary, Queen of Scots, nominated Best Costume Design and Best Hair and Makeup, 2018
I know I said I didn't really have an excuse, but I think I am going to blame Mary, Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan as Queen Mary and Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I. Yup, that's my story. When I initially heard about the movie, I was excited because the Elizabethan period is so lush with characters and intrigue and costumes. Sadly, that excitement left pretty quickly. I would say as soon as I heard Queen Mary speak with a Scottish accent, I was disappointed. It didn't stop there. Oh, let me clarify, even though Mary was Queen of the Scots, she was raised in France and wouldn't have had that accent. It didn't stop there, from casting decisions to not great acting to a not great script and a total disgregard for history (there may have been a teeny tiny disclaimer that they were just using history as a suggestion, but I didn't see it). It is pretty to look at, but I wouldn't spend two hours watching this land of make believe. In case you didn't pick it up from the other clues, the movie focuses on the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth, cousins and rivals. Whew, crossed that one off the list.
4/11/19 Free Solo, Best Documentary, 2018
My preference for best documentary was RBG, the film about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Free Solo features Alex Hohnhold, a quirky, but focused, free solo climber, and his attempt to free solo up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Free solo climbing is done without ropes, pulleys, ladders or nets, so clearly, a challenging sport regardless of the locale, however, adding El Capitan into the mix, makes the climb one of the most difficult climbs undertaken. The film gives the viewer insight into Hohnhold's preparations, his relationship with his girlfriend, and a little bit of a look into his past and what motivates him. There are a few minutes of an interview with his mother, but she seemed a little distant and I got the vibe they weren't that close (I'm happy to be wrong in that perception). It's clear that Alex needs to climb, that's where he seems the most comfortable: climbing, prepping for a climb, talking about a climb. A friend of mine saw the movie in the theater with an audience (something I avoid as much as possible) and said you could hear the collective gasps of the audience as Alex made his way up the cliff, and that added to the suspense and thrill of watching the movie. I watched it at home, on my old boxy tv, by myself, and I knew how it ended. Two very different experiences, and whether my opinion would have been different, I'll never know, but I did like the movie, appreciated Hohnhold's (and the crew's) courage and strength and determination, but I didn't love it. I loved RBG, which I should say, in full disclosure, I saw in a theater with other people. Hmmm. Coincidence? These are two very different movies, with two very different protaganists, so it seems a little unfair to say one is better than the other. Co-director Jimmy Chin also co-directed Meru, another climbing documentary about climbing Meru in the Himalayas. That was an amazing film (seen on the big screen) and I totally recommend watching it.
My preference for best documentary was RBG, the film about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Free Solo features Alex Hohnhold, a quirky, but focused, free solo climber, and his attempt to free solo up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Free solo climbing is done without ropes, pulleys, ladders or nets, so clearly, a challenging sport regardless of the locale, however, adding El Capitan into the mix, makes the climb one of the most difficult climbs undertaken. The film gives the viewer insight into Hohnhold's preparations, his relationship with his girlfriend, and a little bit of a look into his past and what motivates him. There are a few minutes of an interview with his mother, but she seemed a little distant and I got the vibe they weren't that close (I'm happy to be wrong in that perception). It's clear that Alex needs to climb, that's where he seems the most comfortable: climbing, prepping for a climb, talking about a climb. A friend of mine saw the movie in the theater with an audience (something I avoid as much as possible) and said you could hear the collective gasps of the audience as Alex made his way up the cliff, and that added to the suspense and thrill of watching the movie. I watched it at home, on my old boxy tv, by myself, and I knew how it ended. Two very different experiences, and whether my opinion would have been different, I'll never know, but I did like the movie, appreciated Hohnhold's (and the crew's) courage and strength and determination, but I didn't love it. I loved RBG, which I should say, in full disclosure, I saw in a theater with other people. Hmmm. Coincidence? These are two very different movies, with two very different protaganists, so it seems a little unfair to say one is better than the other. Co-director Jimmy Chin also co-directed Meru, another climbing documentary about climbing Meru in the Himalayas. That was an amazing film (seen on the big screen) and I totally recommend watching it.
4/27/19 Rango, Best Animated Feature, 2011
I vaguely remember watching Rango back in 2011 and don't recall anything spectacular about it. In 2011 I watched all of the nominated films, but I didn't write about them, but I remember not being in awe over any of the animated films from that year. Johnny Depp voices Rango, an iguana who gets displaced or misplaced and winds up in a small Western town facing a water shortage and needs a new sheriff. That's all I have. I couldn't pay attention.
