Lets start with a recap :
The last two years I've been batting about a .500 average. That's great if i'm playing baseball but horrible if we're talking final exam grades.
Me and the Academy don't agree but I love movies and I need content for this blog so here we go again for the 3rd Annual Fat Dreek's Oscar Picks :
Best Picture : La La Land
I am NOT a fan of musicals, and I'm not necessarily a fan of this movie but I know the Academy. The Artist (the silent movie a few years back), The Kings Speech (the boring movie about George the Vi), and Birdman (the one continuous shot movie, not the "Are we finished or are we done" guy) all have took home Best Picture. If I am to base my pick on history than La La Land should bring home the gold.
This movie is basically a clever way of telling the classic Boy meets Girl story. I told a friend of mine that the movie is GREEZY (Great + Cheezy). There is no denying the talent with the two lead actors. The songs within the musical were great songs. The directing by Damien Chazelle was superb as well.
Now let me use this category to vent a HUGE frustration! SILENCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED AND SHOULD FOR BEST PICTURE AND SHOULD HAVE WON! I don't know who Martin Scorsese screwed over, but Silence was the best picture I saw this past year and its a crime that it wasn't nominated for more awards from acting to directing.
Moonlight may pull off the upset here, so dont be stunned.
Actor In A Leading Role : Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
This was a tough one, and Im probably wrong but I just have to go with who I liked the most. Captain Fantastic is about a man who lives in the woods with his family. Its simple as that. Viggo is able to portray a range of emotions and I just loved the guy. Its simple as that. Denzel was great in Fences but I felt that Viola was the wave and Denzel just rode it. I would have liked for Denzel to have received a directing nod for Fences because it was wonderfully directed.
Let me regurgitate some frustration! ANDREW GARFIELD SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SILENCE AND HE SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR FOR HIS ROLE! Maybe the Academy just hates Christian movies, but Andrew Garfield was wayyyyyy better in Silence than he was in Hacksaw Ridge.
Actress In A Leading Role : Emma Stone (La La Land)
I hate Emma Stone's eyes. Luckily Damien Chazelle went easy on the close ups compared to Alejandro González Iñárritu who zoomed in on her eyes every chance that he could get in Birdman. It took a special person to pull off this role and Emma executed on all levels with the dancing, the acting, and the singing. I also loved Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy but that seemed a little easy to pull off compared to La La Land.
Actor In A Supporting Role : Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
This is my favorite actor at the moment so I maybe biased. Jeff Bridges and Michael Shannon play the same character in different movies, but here comes the frustration again...
SHINYA TSUKAMOTO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SILENCE.
I don't think he out shined Mahershala, but his role was remarkable and memorable. Replace him with Michael Shannon!
Actress In A Supporting Role : Viola Davis (Fences)
Nothing here to see people. Emma Stone should thank the Heavens that she wasn't nominated in her category or she would've been out of luck. Naomie Harris was cool, but she was basically the skinny Caribbean version of Monique in Precious.
Cinematography : Rodrigo Prieto (Silence)
The only stupid category that this masterpiece got nominated for (Im getting frustrated again) Rodrigo has been snubbed before so hopefully he'll invite the whole cast and crew on stage when he wins!
Best Director : Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
This will probably go to Damien Chazelle for La La Land, but I felt like Barry Jenkins did a lot more with a lot less. 3 no-named actors playing the lead and he was able to put together a great film. MARTIN SCORSESE SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED AND SHOULD HAVE WON THIS CATEGORY!
Documentary : I Am Not Your Negro
I loved the OJ Documentary, but I think Im biased because I lived through it so it hits home a little more, but I Am Not Your Negro was great from beginning to end. So great I had to rewatch it because I missed the first 5 minutes of it originally (CP TIME). James Baldwin was a great mind and this movie was beautifully pieced together. Life, Animated was inspiring and I just didn't like Fire At Sea.
Adapted Screenplay : Eric Heisserer (Arrival)
Im usually wrong on my Adapted Screenplay predictions, because I never read the source material. I just assume Arrival was difficult to adapt because of the whole Alien dilemma and then the underlying stories underneath it. It has some Interstellar mixed with Gravity in it. Hidden Figures was great too and I wouldn't be upset if it won too. JAY COCKS SHOULD HAVE WON BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY FOR SILENCE!!
Original Screenplay : Mike Mills (20th Century Women)
I don't want La La Land to get all of the love at the Academy so I like Mike Mills for the upset. I enjoyed the writing in this movie very much. Its a story that's been told before but the approach that Mike Mills took was refreshing. As long as The Lobster doesn't win. That movie was terrible. Couldn't even finish it.
Moral of the story is, Silence got hosed and that pisses me off but not as much as my Falcons losing the Superbowl in an embarrassing fashion. Also, kids did real well in the movies this year. I hate kids in movies, but this year churned out some great performances!
That's it for this year. Lets see if I can get my batting average up!
See ya at the movies
Fatdreek
