I wonder what its chances of winning actually are.
I’ve seen only The Martian and Spotlight and liked both very much; of the two, I’d give the edge to the first.
I want to see The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant, but haven’t yet.
No interest in seeing Brooklyn or Room. Just not subjects which interest me.
I might at some point watch “Brooklyn” but the day is long past when we needed more stories about the poor Irish, faith and begorra, caught between the auld country and the new, poor, oh what’s Father Mulcahy got to say?
Probably something about jocularity.
mmm
Just got back from The Revenant. I can’t find fault from any aspect of it. Best film I’ve seen in a very long time.
Seen:
The Martian ***1/2
The Big Short ****
The Revenant ****
Not seen:
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
Room
Spotlight
mmm
The Big Short **** 1/2
The Revenant **** 1/2 (but slightly less than The Big Short)
Bridge of Spies ****
Spotlight *** 1/2
Brooklyn *** 1/2
Mad Max: Fury Road ** 1/2
Room N/A but pending
The Martian N/A but pending
We just saw The Revenant. I liked it…not as much as The Big Short, but I’d certainly recommend it.
It was incredible to look at – it should be a shoo-in for a cinematography Oscar. But the screenplay consists of screams, grunts and Tom Hardy’s unintelligible muttering, so I don’t know if I’d say it was Best Picture worthy.
I’m surprised at all the support for Brooklyn (and its nomination in the first place). Good lead performance, but I thought every other character was flat as a board and the plot was aggressively bland, forced, and predictable. The most apt adjective I can think of for it is “ordinary.” Extraordinarily so. I’d call it a two star movie, three if you LOVE Hollywood romances.
Sadly, it’s the only nominee I’ve seen yet.
I can check Mad Max off my list. I was a bit leery going in - I am so tired of car chases/crashes/explosions. Have to say, I enjoyed the ride.
I never would have predicted it to be a Best Picture nominee, though.
A quote from a review from the New Yorker critic:
- Anthony Lane
Seen:
The Martian ***1/2
The Big Short ****
The Revenant ****
Mad Max: Fury Road ***
Not seen:
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Room
Spotlight
mmm
Just returned from seeing Room. Four stars. One of the best performances from a child actor I’ve ever seen.
Seen:
The Martian ***1/2
The Big Short ****
The Revenant ****
Mad Max: Fury Road ***
Room ****
Not seen:
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Spotlight
mmm
Seen:
Just watched Spotlight. It’s a really rather pedestrian film about a bunch of journos looking through a cuttings library. Worthy but dull.
Just saw Brooklyn last night … absolutely loved it. I put it in a 3-way tie of my favorites of the bunch, along with Martian and Big Short.
6 down, 3 to go (Spotlight, Room, Mad Max)
So far, I’ve seen:
The Big Short–4 stars. This was excellent. Stellar acting and storytelling with a difficult subject to make entertaining.
The Martian–3.5 stars. Minor goofiness detracted slightly, but Matt Damon is really compelling.
Bridge of Spies–3 stars. Not what I was expecting going in, but Tom Hanks is so watchable. A little heavy handed at times.
Will be seeing:
Spotlight–Really looking forward to this one.
Brooklyn–I’m not a romance fan. We’ll see!
Might see:
Room–Depends on if I can work up the courage.
Won’t see:
Mad Max: Fury Road–I have a very low tolerance for gore and grotesquerie.
The Revenant–Gore again.
I’m not a fan of gore, either, but The Revenant was tolerable.
There’s no gore in Mad Max. Not that I can remember. The Revenant, yes.
I can understand your feeling like this, considering the story (and that the book it’s based on is based on a true story) but I hope you do see it. I believe you’ll be so caught up in the story and what happens in the second half of the film you’ll realize you’re seeing an amazing story of humanity (believe it or not) and you’ll witness two incredible acting performances.
Agreed.
I think the biggest Oscar snub this year wasn’t on race but on age.
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight
Don’t know if I’ll get to the other two.
I agree that the kid from Room deserves more accolades. Like, maybe I should try to remember his name. Anyway, in a movie full of great performances he stood out.
I know right? If not one of the best movies of the year, possibly the most delightful. I walked out with a smile on my face.
Jumping in, now, as I’ve seen five of the eight. I might actually be able to finish them off this coming week, though I’m uncertain if I want to stomach “Room.”
My ranking thus far:
- The Big Short
- Brooklyn
- The Martian
4/5. tie between Bridge of Spies and Spotlight
I thought they were all very well done. But The Big Short is the first film to leave me feeling like I’d had the breath knocked out of me since seeing “Memento” in the theater years ago. I’m putting that one pretty far above the rest so far.
After seeing two of these (Brooklyn and Spotlight) in the theater today, I’m contemplating going to see The Revenant tomorrow. That would definitely be a record weekend for me in terms of movie-going. If I don’t do that, I’ll probably stream Mad Max.