2017 #OSCARS: My Prediction in the Top 8 Categories

Below are my predictions for the Top 8 categories for the 89th annual Academy Awards. Last year I correctly predicted 6 of the Top 8 categories. Below I put in red the movie or person I want to win, and in blue the person I think actually will win.

Picture 

• “Arrival” 
• “Fences” 
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “Hell or High Water”
• “Hidden Figures”
• “La La Land”
• “Lion”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Moonlight”

WILL WIN: La La Land.

SHOULD WIN: La La Land.

Directing

• Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival”
• Mel Gibson, "Hacksaw Ridge"
• Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
• Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”
• Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”

WILL WIN: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land.”

SHOULD WIN: Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival.”

Actress in a Leading Role:

• Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
• Ruth Negga, “Loving”
• Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
• Emma Stone, “La La Land”
• Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

WILL WIN: Emma Stone, “La La Land.”

SHOULD WIN: Ruth Negga, “Loving.”

Actor in a Leading Role

• Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
• Andrew Garfield, “Hackshaw Ridge”
• Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
• Denzel Washington, “Fences”

WILL WIN: Denzel Washington, “Fences.”

SHOULD WIN: Ryan Gosling, “La La Land.”

Actress in a Supporting Role:

• Viola Davis, “Fences”
• Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
• Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
• Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
• Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

WILL WIN: Viola Davis, “Fences.”

SHOULD WIN: Viola Davis, “Fences.”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
• Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
• Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
• Dev Patel, “Lion”
• Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

WILL WIN: Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals.”

SHOULD WIN: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight.”

Adapted Screenplay

•  “Lion,” by Luke Davis
•  “Arrival,” by Eric Heisserer
•  “Moonlight,” by Barry Jenkins
•  “Hidden Figures,” by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder
•  “Fences,” by August Wilson

WILL WIN: “Arrival”

SHOULD WIN: “Hidden Figures.”

Original Screenplay

•  “Manchester by the Sea,” by Kenneth Lonergan,
•  “Hell or High Water,” by Taylor Sheridan
•  “La La Land,” by Damien Chazelle
•  "20th Century Women," Mike Mills
•  “The Lobster,” by Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos

WILL WIN: “La La Land.”

SHOULD WIN: “Manchester by the Sea.”

Total Nominations

• La La Land - 14(!)
• Moonlight and Arrival (8)
• Hacksaw Ridge, Lion and Manchester by the Sea (6)

Total Wins

• La La Land - (9)
• Arrival (3)
• Moonlight, Fences (2)
• Star Wars: Rogue One, , Hacksaw Ridge, Lion and Manchester by the Sea, Hidden Figures (1)

FILM REVIEW: La La Land

La La Land is the latest picture directed by Damien Chazelle, the 32-year-old wunderkind whose debut film Whiplash was nominated for Best Picture, won 3 Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons (Oz). La La Land stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as two star-crossed lovers who are trying to further their artistic pursuits (his as a jazz pianist, her as an actress) in primary-colored, sun-dappled Los Angeles. This year La La Land received an astonishing 14 Oscar nominations, tying the record set by All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997).  All About Eve only won 6 Oscars but Titanic basically swept the Oscars its year, winning 11. That record was tied by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2004.

La La Land is the frontrunner to win the Best Picture Oscar this year (and perhaps win a lot of other categories as well) because of many reasons, but I would say primarily because it is about Hollywood, struggling artists and "the dream factory." The city of Los Angeles (i.e. the eponymous "La La Land") is almost another main character in the movie. The movie begins with a traffic jam (which turns into a frenetic, strangely uninteresting song-and-dance number) at one of the key freeway interchanges in the city and continues by showing iconic images of Los Angeles, from the Hollywood sign, the view from Griffith Observatory, Watts Towers, the Colorado Street Bridge (in Pasadena), the Rialto Theater (in South Pasadena) and many more. As an Angeleno (as most Oscar voters are), La La Land is a delight.

La La Land attempts to upend and subvert movie tropes while it simultaneously reinscribes them. It is a movie musical about a boy and a girl who fall in love while trying to hold on to their dreams of artistic success and fulfillment. There are numerous points in the film where characters break into song and start dancing (like we would expect them to do in a classic 1950s Hollywood musical). But there are also numerous roadblocks to success and happiness for our couple, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). John Legend has a teensy role as the source of evil temptation for Sebastian to sell out and make money playing back up music in a band he doesn't believe in instead of following his dream of opening up a jazz club where he can preserve the authentic traditions of the music for fellow aficionados like himself.

In the end (which is surprisingly unpredictable) La La Land is a heart-warming story with some catchy tunes that any Angeleno will be hard to resist calling the best movie of the year.

Title: La La Land.
Director: Damien Chazelle.
Running Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some language.
Release Date: December 9, 2016.
Viewing Date: December 19, 2016.

Writing: B.
Acting: A.
Visuals: A+.
Impact: A-.

Overall Grade: A/A- (3.75/4.0).

2017 OSCARS: Nominations Announced! #OscarNotSoWhite

The 2017 Oscar nominations just came out! La La Land leads with 14 nominations (tying the record set by Titanic and All About Eve) but little movies like Hidde Figures, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea did very well. There are NUMEROUS nominees of color this year.

NPR called it "Oscars Slightly Less White":

Call it Oscars Slightly Less White: Unlike last year, when no people of color managed to secure acting or directing nominations, the Academy nominated Denzel Washington for lead actor in Fences, Mahershala Ali and Dev Patel for supporting actor in Moonlight and Lion, respectively, Loving's Ruth Negga in the lead actress category, and Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight) and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) were nominated for best supporting actress. Moonlight's Barry Jenkins was also nominated for best director.

The big nominations are:

Picture 

• “Arrival” 
• “Fences” 
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “Hell or High Water”
• “Hidden Figures”
• “La La Land”
• “Lion”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Moonlight”

Directing

• Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival”
• Mel Gibsion, "Hacksaw Ridge"
• Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
• Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
• Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

Adapted Screenplay

•  “Lion,” by Luke Davis
•  “Arrival,” by Eric Heisserer
•  “Moonlight,” by Barry Jenkins
•  “Hidden Figures,” by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder
•  “Fences,” by August Wilson

Original Screenplay

•  “Manchester by the Sea,” by Kenneth Lonergan,
•  “Hell or High Water,” by Taylor Sheridan
•  “La La Land,” by Damien Chazelle
•  "20th Century Women," Mike Mills
•  “The Lobster,” by Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos

Actress in a leading role:

• Emma Stone, “La La Land”
• Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
• Amy Adams, “Arrival” Ruth Negga, “Loving”
• Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
• Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Actor in a Leading Role

• Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
• Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
• Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
• Denzel Washington, “Fences”

More analysis later. 

WATCH: Trailer for Bladerunner 2049

The trailer for the long-awaited sequel to Bladerunner, called Bladerunner 2049 and directed by (one of my favorites) director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Incendies, Sicario).

Celebrity Friday: Bradley Cooper Named Sexiest Man Alive

Bradley Cooper has been named "the sexiest man alive" by People magazine, annoying fans of Ryan Gosling. I have been a fan of Cooper's since his appearance on J.J. Abrams' Alias television show which starred Jennifer Garner as a secret CIA agent with family issues and Michael Vartan as her handler and love-interest. Cooper played Garner's best friend who was also in love with her. Even back then I could not understand why garner's character would prefer Vartan over Cooper.

Now that the 36-year-old single guy has become a bona fide movie star with appearances in The Hangover and its sequel his profile has soared. This was his reaction when he learned he had been named the sexiest man alive for 2011 by People:

"I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this [title]," saysthe Hangover actor, 36. "I think I'm a decent-looking guy. Sometimes I can look great, and other times I look horrifying." 


Another reason to love him? Cooper, whose father Charles passed away in January, is especially close with his mom, Gloria. When he learned he'd been crowned Sexiest Man Alive, the "first thing I thought," he says, "was, 'My mother is going to be so happy.' " 

Congratulations, Bradley

REVIEW: Fracture

The movie Fracture stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and Best Actor Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling in a taut thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit.

Although the film did not get very good reviews on its initial release or perform very well at the box-office The Other Half and I still went to see Fracture (albeit at our favorite cheapskate second-run theater Regency Academy Cinema in Pasadena) earlier in the summer because he thinks Ryan Gosling is cute and I like to see Hopkins in just about anything.

Since the movie was released on DVD yesterday (with two alternate endings!) I thought I would put down my thoughts about this film.

It's definitely not a painfully bad movie, and for someone who lives in Los Angeles there's always a certain frisson as one recognizes the locations in the film the characters are going to as places that you have been to yourself. That being said, this is clearly a two-man show, with some very fun scenes between Hopkins' character, Ted Crawford, the older, rich, successful engineer who shoots his philandering young wife in the head and Gosling's character, a young, ambitious, handsome but somewhat stuck-up district attorney who gets the case dumped in his lapas his last case before he can jump to a high-power, lucrative private firm. The smaller parts are well-cast, with actors like Cliff Curtis, David Strathairn and Rosamund Pike.

It's definitely not a perfect movie. The plot relies unfairly on information that the audience couldn't reasonably know in order to "solve" the mystery. It's really unsurprising that the DVD contains at least two alternate endings, since really the story could have gone in multiple directions without much more suspension of belief fom the audience. In addition, the chemistry between Gosling and Pike is weak, at best. What's interesting is that Gosling must have been paired with the legendary Anthony Hopkins before his Oscar-nominated performance as a crack-smoking elementary school teacher in Half Nelson became widely known. His next appearance will be in Peter "Lord of the Rings" Jackson's film adaptation of Alice Sebold's celebrated first novel The Lovely Bones, as the father of the murdered child who is the center of the story.

Overall, if you go in with lowered expectations and appreciate the interactions between two actors firing on all cylinders, Fracture is a pleasantly diverting two hours.

GRADE: B.