La La Land ***
Manchester by the Sea ****
Not seen:
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
Brief reviews:
La La Land: Enjoyed it, had fun, but a tiny bit of it rubbed me the wrong way. Seemed a bit too contrived, too Look How Old Time Hollywood We Are. Felt like it was trying too hard to be loved at many points. Good performances, music was less than amazing but pretty damn good. Deducted one point for feeling so manipulated.
Manchester by the Sea: Yeah, I’ve only seen two nominated films so far, but this one is the one to beat. Ben Affleck? Oh, you mean Casey’s brother? Yep, he is that good. Powerful film, couple of unexpected surprises in the plot that are gut-wrenching. Beautifully filmed.
mmm
**Arrival **- three stars
I had really high expectations and it didn’t quite live up to them. Amy Adams was terrific and it’s a shame she was shut out of Best Actress.
Hacksaw Ridge - three stars
A unique WWII story I hadn’t heard before. But even with Mel Gibson’s directorial nod, it has zero chance of winning.
Manchester by the Sea - four stars
Powerful and devastating, with unexpected moments of humor.
Hoping to see La La Land and Hidden Figures very soon.
Seen:
Moonlight – FOUR STARS
Fences – THREE AND A HALF STARS
Hidden Figures – THREE STARS
Not seen:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Lion
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
I’ve been in love with Janelle Monae since she was a Kansas City girl, creating her own funk-pop-electronica alternate universe. Turns out she can also act! (She has a small part in Moonlight, and a larger one in Hidden Figures).
Arrival ****
Fences **
Hacksaw Ridge ***
Hell or High Water ***1/2
Hidden Figures ***1/2
La La Land ***1/2
Lion ***
Manchester by the Sea ****
Moonlight ****
Number one with a bullet is Arrival, just to separate the four star movies.
I want to see darn near all of them and so far haven’t seen one After months and months of not caring about going to the movies and now there’s a ton of great ones and my dread of the unpleasant theater experience is so great I can’t seem to make myself go. I wish they were available on demand - at theater prices, of course. Well, what I really wish is that theaters weren’t smelly, filthy rooms where rude assholes congregate, seemingly for no other reason than to have a climate controlled place to look at their phones.
I don’t know where you live, but for the most part theaters aren’t “smelly, filthy rooms where rude assholes congregate”. In particular, older audiences are less likely to be on their phones.
As for the OP, the only ones I haven’t seen are Fences, Hacksaw Ridge and Hidden Figures. I’ll try to see one or more of them this weekend. I liked the ones I have seen.
I haven’t seen any of the nominated pictures, but I’ve watched all of the official trailers. Based on that, the ones I’d most like to see (in order) are:
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Hidden Figures
Arrival
Hell or High Water
I’ll wait until release on Netflix or Amazon Prime for the rest. But based on the reviews, the only reason I’d watch the rest is because they’re Oscar nominated. I loved Slumdog Millionaire, but Lion looks like a grown-up version of it. Moonlight and Fences look super depressing and, given current events, I get enough of that for free. I’m surprised that Manchester by the Sea is so well-regarded because even though I think Casey Affleck is an incredibly talented actor (much more so than Ben), the trailer didn’t make the movie look all that compelling or the storyline all that unique.
I wonder if anyone else went in with lower expectations of these four and came away completely blown away by the actual films.
FYI, I believe Hell or High Water is available for rental, as are Florence Foster Jenkins and Captain Fantastic (the latter two received nominations for acting).
I’ve seen them all, some multiple times. My personal ratings (out of 5):
Arrival ****1/2
Fences ***1/2
Hacksaw Ridge ****1/2
Hell or High Water ****
Hidden Figures ***** (not because it’s the “best” but because I love it so much)
La La Land ***1/2
Lion ***1/2
Manchester by the Sea ****1/2
Moonlight ****1/2
I’ve seen Arrival 3 times, Hidden Figures twice and La La Land twice. I will see Hidden Figures and Moonlight again. Hidden Figures is my favorite of the nominees but if I had to choose which one I think is “best” I would say Arrival. But they’re all really very good, even, yes, Lion.
My very favorite movie of 2016 (Sing Street) didn’t get any nominations at all, which makes me sad. It should have gotten at least a song nomination.
I’ve seen over a hundred films in the theater this year, and had only one bad experience - and I didn’t make a stink about it as it was obvious from the comments and voice that this is an intellectually disabled person, and all I could do is shame her caregiver.
I actively dislike seeing movies at home, so most of my film-watching is theatrical. In 2016, I saw 229 features and 256 short films in the cinema. For 2017, I’m already up to 31 features and 28 shorts.
Well, in all fairness, I work in the industry so I get festival passes and free screening tickets regularly (plus indulge in bargain matinees, discount nights, and double features). Plus, i live in a market where there are archival screenings constantly (I’d estimate 1/3 of the films I see are from the 20th century), so the choices are more sizable. Being single helps, too. :dubious:
After months and months of not caring about going to the movies and now there’s a ton of great ones and my dread of the unpleasant theater experience is so great I can’t seem to make myself go. I wish they were available on demand - at theater prices, of course. Well, what I really wish is that theaters weren’t smelly, filthy rooms where rude assholes congregate, seemingly for no other reason than to have a climate controlled place to look at their phones.