It's time for the Big Game
It's that time of year again.
On one bench, we have the team with a storied quarterback who is in the autumn of his career, but may get a victory lap. Backed by a strong offensive line, a legacy of making good passes, a good kicker, and the uncanny ability to rally from behind. But no one is misunderstanging the other team. It is very obvious that they are the favorite. They have the Heisman Trophy winner who can plow through a defensive line. Their quarterback can find a corner, run a route, and make hail mary passes or just big cannons at the first and ten.
It's that time of year again.
The Oscar Race for 2015!
Obviously there's a lot more diversity to the NFL. And I can guarantee you, hands down, exponentially more people will be turning into Superbowl 50, or, I guess they would call it Superbowl L, than the Academy Awards.
With no Will Smith, no Idris Elba, no Michael B. Jordan, no Samuel L. Jackson, no O'Shea Jackson Jr. or any other actors from Straight Outta' Compton, no Octavia Spencer, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Halle Berry, or Viola Davis performances in the race, this is a white man's game.
Even as a white man I am not that enthusiastic about the Academy Awards for film year 2015.
But it is very much a routine to watch it. So I will gather myself together for the sake of routine. Here is how my favorite films of 2015 shook up in the Oscar race.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is my favorite movie of 2015. It brings about the same message of Healing Love that Silver Linings Playbook presented. Peeta emerges from Capitol imprisonment brainwashed into hating Katniss. Katniss hates herself for not having been able to rescue him from the Capitol clutches herself, having been swept off by District 13 hovercraft and barely conscious at the end of Catching Fire. But she will withhold from taking Peeta out, even if he attacks her viciously, for as long as she can. Because, deep down, she still loves him. That love is stronger than the hate in his heart. And the love in his heart is stronger than his hate for her too. Mockingjay Part 2 got zero Academy Award nominations.
Jennifer Lawrence was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics' Association for a Critics' Choice Award, Best Actress in an Action Movie. The Alliance of Women Film Journalists also nominated her for Best Female Action Star. The Costume Designers Guild Award nominated Kurt and Bart for Excellence in Fantasy Film. Hollywood Make Up and Hair Stylists Guild Awards nominated Ve Neill. The Georgia Film Critics' Association nominated it for the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema. (It was filmed in Atlanta.)
So I don't have any nominations for that to look forward to.
The Age of Adaline was my second favorite film of 2015. We see Adaline torn between the love she feels for Ellis, played by Michel Huisman, the man who won her heart through his philanthropy work and his donation of rare books to the library she works at in San Francisco; and Ellis' father, William, played by Harrison Ford. She had been in love with him back in 1966. Wait a minute, though, she still looks twenty-seven in present day. They fell in love with exactly the same woman. She sees William and doesn't recognize him right away, as he's about seventy by now. But he recognizes her. He knows her in an instant. And no story about her being Adaline's daughter Jenny will satisfy him. So Adaline, an anomoly of nature in that she can't age, has to decide between the new love of her life, the old love of her life, or running. It got zero Academy Award nominations. It was nominated for a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Movie Drama.
Paper Towns. Come on, moviegoing public. You completely and utterly let this one slip through the cracks. I saw it in August with Phil Kopp. It had already left the Davenport theatres. But we caught it at the Regal Cinemas in Moline. Quentin Jacobsen loves Margo Roth Spiegelman so unconditionally that he will follow all the clues that she left, intentionally or not, that pointed to her in Agloe, New York. And his fear that she might do something terrible to herself, after a big fight with her parents, is what causes him to beg his mom to borrow her car and bring Ben, Radar, Lacey, and Radar's girlfriend from Orlando, Florida along for the trip. And to him, maybe it doesn't matter that Margo will not always be the next door neighbor who loved him inconditionally at one point in time. In ways that reminded me of Mockingjay, Quentin's love for Margo is stronger than her apathy. He clings to the love of hers that he knew once. Gallantly. This was the third best movie of 2015.
Paper Towns has, of course, zero nominations for Academy Awards. It got blasted out of the water at the box office by Antman, Trainwreck, Southpaw, and even Pixels. But it was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards, winning for Choice Summer Movie Star Male, Nat Wolff.
Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens is the first film on my Best of 2015 list to get any nominations for anything. It was my fourth favorite film of 2015. As Rey and Finn, I had the great joy of watching Daisy Ridley and John Boyega become fast friends, stealing the Millenium Falcon from junk owner Unkar Plutt (Abrams regular Simon Pegg) and heading off into the heavens, in the hopes of using BB-8's map to find Luke Skywalker. In the process they cross paths with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). It was a great joy to see this franchise return to the big screen. It got five Academy Award nominations, including Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing, Film Editing, and Original Score.
Spotlight is my # 5 movie of the year. It was about a small squad of Boston Globe reporters whose general editor gently nudges them to follow up on a story about a Catholic priest who was accused of molesting boys. It starts out with just thirteen priests that the Catholic church was covering up. But it winds up that there were 87 in Boston. And 6 percent of priests total. They learn that this isn't only in Boston. Yes, the Catholic church creates all manners of red tape to prevent the sealed documents from being uncovered. There were affidavits, there were depositions, and then no one was ever prosecuted. Until 2002. That was when they finally put the puzzle pieces together and reported on the abuses that had been reported. Then the calls could start coming in from the victims of abuse that hadn't been reported.
Spotlight is nominated for Six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Tom McCarthy), Best Original Screenplay (Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams), and Film Editing.
Elsewhere in my top ten:
6. Playing it Cool is nominated for zero Academy Awards.
7. Trainwreck is nominated for zero Academy Awards, but it was nominated for Golden Globe for Best Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, for Amy Schumer.
8. Inside Out is nominated for Two Academy Awards, for Animated Feature and Original Screenplay. That was a great movie. And it was my Oscar night at the movies with Alaina and Mason this year.
9. Steve Jobs is nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role, Michael Fassbender, and Best Supporting Actress, Kate Winslet.
10. Pitch Perfect 2 got zero Academy Award nominations.
Also, my # 11 movie, Joy, got one Academy Award nomination, Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. She put all of her collateral on the line, took out loans, and risked financial ruin as Joy Mangano, steadfastly trying to get her product mass-produced, shipped, and sold on her own terms. I could watch Jennifer Lawrence mop a floor for two hours and it would be a compelling performance. Literally, that's the case here.
Oh yeah, the Superbowl. The North Carolina Panthers are favored to win. But I think it would be the feel-good story of the year if massive underdogs the Denver Broncos somehow pull a massive upset, sending the sportscasters into a frenzy and spiking the ratings to historic levels.
The Academy Awards will probably have their lowest ratings since 2007.
On one bench, we have the team with a storied quarterback who is in the autumn of his career, but may get a victory lap. Backed by a strong offensive line, a legacy of making good passes, a good kicker, and the uncanny ability to rally from behind. But no one is misunderstanging the other team. It is very obvious that they are the favorite. They have the Heisman Trophy winner who can plow through a defensive line. Their quarterback can find a corner, run a route, and make hail mary passes or just big cannons at the first and ten.
It's that time of year again.
The Oscar Race for 2015!
Obviously there's a lot more diversity to the NFL. And I can guarantee you, hands down, exponentially more people will be turning into Superbowl 50, or, I guess they would call it Superbowl L, than the Academy Awards.
With no Will Smith, no Idris Elba, no Michael B. Jordan, no Samuel L. Jackson, no O'Shea Jackson Jr. or any other actors from Straight Outta' Compton, no Octavia Spencer, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Halle Berry, or Viola Davis performances in the race, this is a white man's game.
Even as a white man I am not that enthusiastic about the Academy Awards for film year 2015.
But it is very much a routine to watch it. So I will gather myself together for the sake of routine. Here is how my favorite films of 2015 shook up in the Oscar race.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is my favorite movie of 2015. It brings about the same message of Healing Love that Silver Linings Playbook presented. Peeta emerges from Capitol imprisonment brainwashed into hating Katniss. Katniss hates herself for not having been able to rescue him from the Capitol clutches herself, having been swept off by District 13 hovercraft and barely conscious at the end of Catching Fire. But she will withhold from taking Peeta out, even if he attacks her viciously, for as long as she can. Because, deep down, she still loves him. That love is stronger than the hate in his heart. And the love in his heart is stronger than his hate for her too. Mockingjay Part 2 got zero Academy Award nominations.
Jennifer Lawrence was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics' Association for a Critics' Choice Award, Best Actress in an Action Movie. The Alliance of Women Film Journalists also nominated her for Best Female Action Star. The Costume Designers Guild Award nominated Kurt and Bart for Excellence in Fantasy Film. Hollywood Make Up and Hair Stylists Guild Awards nominated Ve Neill. The Georgia Film Critics' Association nominated it for the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema. (It was filmed in Atlanta.)
So I don't have any nominations for that to look forward to.
The Age of Adaline was my second favorite film of 2015. We see Adaline torn between the love she feels for Ellis, played by Michel Huisman, the man who won her heart through his philanthropy work and his donation of rare books to the library she works at in San Francisco; and Ellis' father, William, played by Harrison Ford. She had been in love with him back in 1966. Wait a minute, though, she still looks twenty-seven in present day. They fell in love with exactly the same woman. She sees William and doesn't recognize him right away, as he's about seventy by now. But he recognizes her. He knows her in an instant. And no story about her being Adaline's daughter Jenny will satisfy him. So Adaline, an anomoly of nature in that she can't age, has to decide between the new love of her life, the old love of her life, or running. It got zero Academy Award nominations. It was nominated for a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Movie Drama.
Paper Towns. Come on, moviegoing public. You completely and utterly let this one slip through the cracks. I saw it in August with Phil Kopp. It had already left the Davenport theatres. But we caught it at the Regal Cinemas in Moline. Quentin Jacobsen loves Margo Roth Spiegelman so unconditionally that he will follow all the clues that she left, intentionally or not, that pointed to her in Agloe, New York. And his fear that she might do something terrible to herself, after a big fight with her parents, is what causes him to beg his mom to borrow her car and bring Ben, Radar, Lacey, and Radar's girlfriend from Orlando, Florida along for the trip. And to him, maybe it doesn't matter that Margo will not always be the next door neighbor who loved him inconditionally at one point in time. In ways that reminded me of Mockingjay, Quentin's love for Margo is stronger than her apathy. He clings to the love of hers that he knew once. Gallantly. This was the third best movie of 2015.
Paper Towns has, of course, zero nominations for Academy Awards. It got blasted out of the water at the box office by Antman, Trainwreck, Southpaw, and even Pixels. But it was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards, winning for Choice Summer Movie Star Male, Nat Wolff.
Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens is the first film on my Best of 2015 list to get any nominations for anything. It was my fourth favorite film of 2015. As Rey and Finn, I had the great joy of watching Daisy Ridley and John Boyega become fast friends, stealing the Millenium Falcon from junk owner Unkar Plutt (Abrams regular Simon Pegg) and heading off into the heavens, in the hopes of using BB-8's map to find Luke Skywalker. In the process they cross paths with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). It was a great joy to see this franchise return to the big screen. It got five Academy Award nominations, including Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing, Film Editing, and Original Score.
Spotlight is my # 5 movie of the year. It was about a small squad of Boston Globe reporters whose general editor gently nudges them to follow up on a story about a Catholic priest who was accused of molesting boys. It starts out with just thirteen priests that the Catholic church was covering up. But it winds up that there were 87 in Boston. And 6 percent of priests total. They learn that this isn't only in Boston. Yes, the Catholic church creates all manners of red tape to prevent the sealed documents from being uncovered. There were affidavits, there were depositions, and then no one was ever prosecuted. Until 2002. That was when they finally put the puzzle pieces together and reported on the abuses that had been reported. Then the calls could start coming in from the victims of abuse that hadn't been reported.
Spotlight is nominated for Six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Tom McCarthy), Best Original Screenplay (Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams), and Film Editing.
Elsewhere in my top ten:
6. Playing it Cool is nominated for zero Academy Awards.
7. Trainwreck is nominated for zero Academy Awards, but it was nominated for Golden Globe for Best Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, for Amy Schumer.
8. Inside Out is nominated for Two Academy Awards, for Animated Feature and Original Screenplay. That was a great movie. And it was my Oscar night at the movies with Alaina and Mason this year.
9. Steve Jobs is nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role, Michael Fassbender, and Best Supporting Actress, Kate Winslet.
10. Pitch Perfect 2 got zero Academy Award nominations.
Also, my # 11 movie, Joy, got one Academy Award nomination, Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. She put all of her collateral on the line, took out loans, and risked financial ruin as Joy Mangano, steadfastly trying to get her product mass-produced, shipped, and sold on her own terms. I could watch Jennifer Lawrence mop a floor for two hours and it would be a compelling performance. Literally, that's the case here.
Oh yeah, the Superbowl. The North Carolina Panthers are favored to win. But I think it would be the feel-good story of the year if massive underdogs the Denver Broncos somehow pull a massive upset, sending the sportscasters into a frenzy and spiking the ratings to historic levels.
The Academy Awards will probably have their lowest ratings since 2007.