The Stage is Set 2016
The Stage is Set.
On one side, you have a team that had only four other teams with worse odds of making it to the Big Game. But they managed to win two less than all of those four teams combined. And now they are mere three point underdogs to the team from New England. The team that has gotten its star quarterback four Big Game rings, and stands a good chance of gaining him a fifth.
Which brings us to the other side, the team that seems to desire winning at all costs. And I can only imagine, given their ability to hold opponents to only sixteen points all season on opening drives, they would be utterly shell-shocked and flabbergasted to lose to their NFC rival. One team may get a record fifth for one quarterback alone. The other team may get a record all-time first.
It's that time of year again.
The Oscar Race for Film Year 2016!
My # 1 movie of 2016 was La La Land. I saw it on Saturday, December 31st, 2016, with Phil Kopp in a capacity sold out house in Davenport, Iowa at the Cinemark Rave. It is a beautiful film about a girl named Mia and a guy named Sebastian. They rub each other the wrong way with the most right of possible outcomes. See, people want to be accepted by those who reject them. So when Sebastian sings about how him and Mia are thoroughly wrong for each other, Mia doubles down and agrees. Oh yeah. They don't have any chemistry whatsoever. Not an ounce. Why would they be crazy enough to hook up? Look how they can barely stand each other? And they express their mutual disdain for each other through... through... a beautifully choreographed dance number in which they stay, note for note, step for step, right in time with each other...and they sing right in key as well! If their perfect comic timing and wry roasting of each other isn't enough to prove that these two just can't make it, he dares her to meet him for a screening of a James Dean movie. At an old palace theatre. This will prove they won't make it! She has a date with her current boyfriend scheduled the same night! And she'd never... not in a million years... excuse herself from the date, scramble to get to the movie theatre, stand in front of the screen, furtively look all over the place for Sebastian, interlace her fingers with his, make a break for the Griffith Observatory, float off into the sky and in a moment of sheer utter jubilant magic realism sashey through the stars. I sighed and thought of Gabby. La La Land isn't about the destination. It is a movie about the journey. And all the little successes we get to celebrate even if the end result comes with an opportunity cost. It is nominated for fourteen Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor-Ryan Gosling, Best Actress- Emma Stone, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Music-Original Score, Music- Original Song "Audition (For Those Who Dream)," Music- Original Song again for "City of Stars," Production Design (formerly Art Direction), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Original Screenplay. This one could go on a colossal romp through the evening. And I wouldn't be able to keep up with the amount of drinks I would have to have if I had a drink for each win. Unless it pulls a The Color Purple or a True Grit. But my guess is Emma Stone, having won both the Golden Globe for Best Actress Musical or Comedy and the SAG Award, should be favored over Isabelle Huppert, her closest competition. Picture, Director, Original Score, and Original Song should also be grabbed.
My # 2 movie of 2016 is Moana.
Moana had a brief five day stay at the top of my list, before stepping aside for La La Land. It is a story about how important a young woman can be. She begs her father to let her take the boat out to find more fish, when they are becoming harder and harder to come by. And ultimately, she bypasses her father entirely and takes the blessing of her grandmother to go forth and return a mysterious stone to a Sea Goddess who has cursed the land. And in doing so, she understands her enemies. She sees them at eye level. First, the comic relief enemy, mercenary demigod Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, you're welcome. Pun intended.) Second, the Sea Goddess. She manhandles the Ocean water, beautifully taking from it a power to stand her ground against Maui again and again and again, to extract the rock from Comic Relief villain # 2, and to deliver the mysterious stone to Te Fiti. It is with this knowledge and certainty of self in purpose that she goes through with all of this trouble. And it was inspiring. Auli'i Kravalho is a revelation. And The Rock is not a bad surprise himself when he puts words to music! Give some credit where it's due, though. John Musker. Ron Clements. Lin-Manuel Miranda. Moana is my 2nd favorite film of 2016, and it is nominated for two Academy Awards. Best Animated Feature, and Best Original Song- "How Far I'll Go." Zootopia and La La Land collectively represent this film's stiffest competition. And man, I am torn. I want Moana to win. But either of those two would be a worthy competitor.
My # 3 film of 2016 was X-Men Apocalypse.
Erik Lehnnsher loses all hope in humanity, and in his desperation for revenge against the human beings who took everything from him, he goes and sides with Apocalypse. It's hard to imagine humans siding with an evil force out of retribution for having something precious stolen from them by mistake. But Donald Trump got elected president. And Hillary Clinton got blamed pretty much completely for the raid on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The Polish police officers acted out of panic, not so much anger, and there was a sad opportunity cost. Reminiscent of The Hunger Games. Also reminiscent of The Hunger Games: A headstrong Jennifer Lawrence! This time, Mystique is fighting on the side of Charles Xavier. And it's breathtaking and thrilling to see a villain find common ground with a hero, much as it was in X-2: X-Men United. This is one of the best movies of the year.
X-Men is up for nothing.
On down the list:
4. Zootopia is nominated for Animated Feature.
5. Nerve is not nominated for anything. It had a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Thriller Movie.
6. Dr. Strange is nominated for Visual Effects.
7. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice got nominated for a bunch of Razzies.
8. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children got bypassed- It got a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Dramatic Movie.
9. Independence Day Resurgence got a Razzie nomination for something. I think Sela Ward. Come on, be fair. She was one of the best performances in the movie!
10. Now You See Me 2 - Three Teen Choice Award nominations.
Just out of my top ten, Passengers got two Academy Award nominations- Original Score for Thomas Newman, and Production Design. Kind of cool that it got its foot in the door. It helped that it did modestly well at the Box Office.
Captain America Civil War got shut out. The effects were impressive. But the film was perfunctory if entertaining in its mash up of Marvel Avengers with new heroes and others who've had stand alone films in the past.
Suicide Squad has an Oscar nomination for Make-up. And some Razzie award nominations. Jared Leto for some reason. I thought he did alright, I don't know. People are fickle.
The Shallows also was nominated for People's Choice Awards in some such category.
The Divergent Series Allegiant also collected some Razzies.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is up for an Academy Award for Visual Effects. Wasn't the most engaging of the Star Wars universe movies, but it did do just enough to make me care about the characters Jyn Elso and Cassio.
The Legend of Tarzan must have come out okay at the Box office, because people forgot what drivel it was, and I don't think it got Razzie nominations for anything.
Haven't finished Deadpool, still. Even in as much as it got two Golden Globe nominations.
Secret Ocean 3D actually came out in 2015, though I saw it this past summer at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans.
So who do you predict will win the Superbowl?