I want my money back: The Lighthouse, I Lost My Body

I have two weeks to go before the Oscars and I am terribly behind due to my two weeks in Asia, so it's well worth it. I have twenty-nine movies to see and I'm not optimistic. I have legitimate concerns that my retinas will burn out.

1/25/20 Little Women, nominated Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, 2019

I was irritated the whole time I watched Little Women. Irritated it was on the list; irritated I make myself follow the list; irritated it was over two hours long. I didn't care and don't care. It's certainly not Best Picture material. 

1/25/20 I Lost My Body, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2019

It took me five tries to finish the movie, and the whole time I wanted to quit. It was the longest 81 minutes of my life. This is a candidate for an animated short, there was no need for this fantasy drama about a disembodied hand in search of its body to be EIGHTY ONE MINUTES long. There was definite potential, but it was lost, in my opinion in mopey melodrama. If this wins for Best Animated Feature, I may give this up.

1/26/20 The Lighthouse, nominated Best Cinematography, 2019

The two best things about The Lighthouse are it's less than two hours long and it was only nominated for one award. Otherwise, oh my god and I want my money back, Redbox. Horror movies usually have one of two effects on me, they either scare the crap out of me or they make me laugh because they are so ridiculous. I cried and laughed because this was so ridiculous. It was nominated for its cinematography because it was in black and white; that almost seems like the way to guarantee at least one nomination, regardless of the quality of the movie. Allegedly this was based on an unfinished Edgar Allen Poe, or at least it was the inspiration, but Poe could scare the crap out of you in a short story (did you catch the 'short' part?) and you weren't laughing. Anyway, I wrote way more than I wanted to about this movie. But, if you want to see a good movie, don't do it. As for the Oscar, I've seen the other nominees, and I think 1917 had some spectacular cinematography as did Joker.

Three more nominees: The Two Popes, American Factory and Breakthrough

12/26/19 The Two Popes, nominated Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 2019

I cannot speak to the accuracy of The Two Popes, especially the scenes within the conclave where the Cardinals vote for the new pope. I thought the ballots were burned, so perhaps that part is speculation. At any rate, the film looks at the unusual circumstance and relationship between Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) created when Pope Benedict stepped down from his lifetime appointment to the papacy and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. The two men couldn't be more different or on opposite sides of almost any argument. The movie flashes back to when Jorge was a young man, before he entered the priesthood and then his time as a priest during the time of the junta in Argentina. The flashbacks show Bergoglio's flaws and his human side, which some may not believe are suited for a position that is considered infallible. Bergoglio repeatedly tries to resign his post as Cardinal, but Pope Benedict continually refuses him. The movie shows the human side of Pope Benedict as well, as he and Pope Francis watch the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina together, fact or fiction, it was an enjoyable scene to watch. Pryce is nominated for Best Actor and I think the odds are against him since Joaquin Phoenix seems to be the favorite this awards season. Hopkins is nominated for Best Supporting Actor and that may be a little more open, with two nominations for The Irishman (Joe Pesci and Al Pacino), Brad Pitt for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (haven't seen this yet) and Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. I know Hanks is usually the favorite any time he's nominated, but I thought Pesci was really, really good.

1/12/20 American Factory, nominated Best Documentary Feature, 2019

American Factory was hard to watch, I really felt the heartache and frustration and disappointment of the men and women of Moraine, Ohio, as they tried to make a new life at a new factory built and run by the Chinese glass factory Fuyao. I wasn't surprised by the culture clash and differences, but I was surprised at how big and wide the divide was, and the hostile attitudes expressed by both at the end of the film. I thought something seemed familiar about the filmmaking and the topic, the General Motors Assembly Plant, but I just found out that the filmmakers also made 2009 nominee, The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant by Julie Reichert and Steve Bognar. This was the same plant. Everything seems pretty positive and full of potential and hope to bring back good paying jobs to southwestern Ohio. The Chairman, Cao Dewang, is aware of the differences in culture and work practices and at first seems okay with it, up to a point. The Chinese are absolutely opposed to any kind of unionization and threaten to shut the plant if the unions come in. Eventually, the lower than expected wages, the safety concerns and other practices put the two sides in opposition to one another. In my Pollyanna world, I kept thinking if the two sides could talk, really talk and get some kind of understanding and not fall into stereotyping (it happens on both ends), it could have been so much more beneficial. This is the first nominated documentary I have seen, so I can't honestly say if I think it will win, but I found it powerful, relevant and full of humanity. It's distributed by Netflix, so it's available on streaming, and I strongly recommend watching it, for so many reasons. 


1/17/20 Breakthrough, nominated Best Original Song, 2019

I'll be honest, if Breakthrough wasn't on the Oscars list, I would never have watched it; I can't even say it was an unexpected find. It's not that it was terrible, it's just not my thing. When I saw the previews, I thought, nope, I won't be going. Sigh. So here we are. The movie is based on the true story of John Smith falling through a not so frozen lake in St. Charles, Missouri and being put into a medically induced coma. The doctors had no expectations of a full recovery, but his mother, Joyce (Chrissy Metz), had other ideas. She was so fervent and adamant in her belief and her prayers that you could say she willed John to get better. Movies like this really aren't my thing, so if I'm going to like it (or maybe just watch it) at least the acting needs to be good. I'm sorry, but it wasn't. Topher Grace was Pastor Jason, and while I believed Anthony Hopkins could have Pope Benedict, I did not at all believe that Topher Grace was a pastor. The music was okay; "I'm Standing with You", written by Diane Warren and performed offscreen by Chrissy Metz is nominated for Best Original Song. It was a good song, but I have a feeling that the new song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin for Rocketman, "(I'm gonna) Love Me Again". The movie wasn't my thing, but you may like it.

2019 Animated nominees - Missing Link, Klaus, The Lion King

1/16/20 Missing Link, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2019

If you're like me and are looking for something new, or at least not remade or a sequel, I totally suggest Missing Link or Klaus (my favorite was Klaus). Missing Link was done by Laika, which has also done some of my recent favorite animated films including Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, Kuba and the Two Strings (if not my favorite, I like them for their original ideas and animation style) and using stop motion animation. It tells the story of an eccentric English explorer, Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) and his pursuit of unique creatures, in this case, Bigfoot (voiced by Zack Galafianakis). Frost is joined by Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), also an adventurer, who is brave and clever in her own right. Frost has the idea of taking Bigfoot, now named Susan Link (that's a whole other story), to meet his relatives, Yetis, in the Himalayas. Of course, there is a jealous nemesis, Lord Piggott-Dunceby (Stephen Fry) and a ruthless henchman, Willard Stenk (Timothy Olyphant). I enjoyed the movie for the story, the voice characters and the animation. Totally a movie for one of those snow days or winter weekends.

1/17/20 How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2019

I do not understand how this franchise keeps getting nominated for Oscars, I really don't. It was fine, if you're twelve, or maybe ten, but Oscar-worthy? No. That's all, I can't even pretend to care, not after watching Missing Link and Klaus. I'm hoping the series ends here.

1/19/20 The Lion King, nominated Best Visual Effects, 2019

The Lion King is the third or fourth (?) animated Disney film to be reimagined as live action or 'photorealistic computer animated'. WHY? I don't know. Again, I thought it was a good movie, not great, and in fact, it's nominated for Best Visual Effects, and I don't have a strong feeling about it one way or another because it's going up against Star Wars, The Irishman (with the de-aging effect), The Avengers and 1917, and I think depending on how the voters are feeling that day, or their particular pet peeve, anyone could win. The Lion King doesn't stray too far from the original, some tweaks and nuanced changes, but nothing that would be shocking. There are all new voice actors, except for that national treasure who is James Earl Jones, reprising Mufasa; the songs have been re-arranged, and there are new songs, one by Ilya Salmanzadeh, Labrinth and Beyoncé and performed by Beyoncé ("Spirit") and one written by Elton John and Tim Rice ("Never Too Late"). I think was some disappointment that "Spirit" wasn't nominated. Beyoncé also voices the grown up Nala and Donald Glover is Simba. Chiwetel Ejiofor was Scar, previously voiced by Jeremy Irons; it's hard to compare because they were both pretty menacing. Timon and Pumbaa were voiced by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, and I admit I was listening for Nathan Lane as Timon, but I got over it. I honestly do not remember the voice of Zazu in the original movie, but he is voiced by John Oliver in the new film, and he might be my favorite, maybe because I saw him in my head when I was watching. The effects were good and sometimes the animals seemed real, or at least not like a cartoon, but like I said, not sure how it's going to fare against the other nominees. Did they have to make this movie? I really don't know. I guess the best I can say is they didn't make it worse (not naming names), and the music gets a little refresh and sounds good. If you have little kids and want a movie for the rest of the long, cold winter we have ahead of us (or if you're reading this in six months - for a night at the cabin), this would be a good family movie.

1/19/20 Klaus, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2019

There have been variations on the Santa Klaus theme over the years, but this is a version that is new to me. The movie features JK Simmons as Klaus, a reclusive toy maker/carpenter, and Jason Schwartzman as Jesper, a ne'er-do-well postman who meet in an isolated town and change the lives and attitudes of each other and the townspeople. Smeerensburg is a northern (very northern) version of the Hatfields and McCoys, with two feuding families who have no use for a postman, a teacher or a man who makes toys for children. Jesper's father promised him that he could return to the family and comforts of home if he posted/processed 6,000 letters, so Jesper gets creative and, well, you're going to have to watch. I don't want to spoil it. The two voices that really stand out are JK Simmons as Klaus and Joan Cusack as Mrs. Krum, leader of one faction of the feuding families (say that three times fast). Sergio Pablos was the director, writer and a couple of the voices; he was also the creator of the Despicable Me/Minions franchise. Rashida Jones is Alva, a schoolteacher who works as a fishmonger because the children aren't sent to school. The animation steers away from computer animation and tries to improve on the traditional animation techniques; it looked, if not 'fresh' exactly, it looked new and different. There is humor, but also a story about people and growing and learning and doing things for others. It may sound corny, but I don't think it comes across that way. If you want to wait until next Christmas to watch this new Christmas movie, you can, but I don't think you have to. I hope this wins, but I don't know.