Monthly Archives: January 2015

01.12.15
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The 72nd Golden Globe Awards

Last night was The Golden Globe Awards! It was awesome! Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were hilarious, and the show was great! Here are the winners for movie categories:

Best Picture – Drama:
Boyhood

Best Picture – Comedy:
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Actor in a Drama:
Eddie Redmayne – Theory of Everything

Best Actor in a Comedy:
Michael Keaton – Birdman

Best Actress in a Drama:
Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Best Actress in a Comedy:
Any Adams – Big Eyes

Best Supporting Actor:
J.K Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Best Screenplay:
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu – Birdman

Best Director:
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Animated Film:
How To Train Your Dragon 2

My thoughts on the winners:
I wish Benedict Cumberbatch won instead of Eddie Redmayne, and Birdman should have won Best Comedy instead of The Grand Budapest Hotel. They are both great movies, but I think Birdman is the better film. But I think that Birdman is in no way a comedy. It is definitely a drama. I am also very bummed that Interstellar did not win Best Score. But I am very happy that JK Simmons won best Supporting Actor, and Selma won Best Original Song. I think The Imitation Game should have won Best Drama, but then again, I haven’t seen Boyhood yet. I really wish Whiplash was nominated for Best Drama, though. And I wish Emma Stone won Best Supporting Actress. I’m glad How to Train Your Dragon 2 won Best Animated Feature instead of the highly over hyped (but still good) Lego Movie. There were a few winners I wasn’t all happy with, but there is still the Oscars next month!

01.11.15
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Selma

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Selma is the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s attempts at implementing the Voting Rights Act for the black population in Alabama in 1965. The film focuses on a significant chapter in King’s life, the march of thousands of people from Selma to Montgomery, capital of Alabama.

Selma is one of the better Civil Rights films of recent years. The movie is more talking than intensity, and the first hour is very slow, but the second hour really pulled me in. The movie is very well done. David Oyelowo delivers a great performance, he looked and sounded exactly like the actual Martin Luther King. He delivered every line very accurately and with great emotion. He was very convincing as a true charismatic leader. Carmen Ejogo was great as Coretta Scott King, Dr. King’s wife. All the characters were very well developed, and the actors were well casted. I could feel that director Ava DuVernay made a special effort to remain true to the actual chain of events in order to convey the spirit of King’s struggles and the atmosphere of hatred towards the black population in Alabama. The violent scenes of the beatings and brutality of innocent black people that were peacefully marching were especially horrifying, and I felt like I was watching the actual event, because of the way they reenacted the scene. The film is very convincing about the characters and the period of time in which the film takes place. In the end, the audience and myself were applauding, because the film was successfully able to convey the meaningfulness of King’s efforts and the horrors of that time period. I am glad I live today and not back then, because of the racism and people that made society dangerous.

Overall, Selma is a great film. It’s very slow, but still well made, acted, and directed. David Oyelowo delivers a solid performance as Dr. MLK, and the film does not fail at delivering it’s message to the audience. This film proves to be a true Oscar contender. Highly recommended, but only for ages 14 and up, because of brutal, violent scenes and some racial slurs.

Selma poster.jpg

01.07.15
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The Imitation Game

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During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.

2014 has come to an end, and this movie is one of its best films. Every moment of the film kept me interested and pulled in to the story and the characters. The screenplay and dialogue are so great, at times it was funny, moving, and emotional. It was not slow at all, I actually thought it could have been a little longer, because the first hour went by way too quickly. The cast and acting in this movie are incredible, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, the star of the movie. I have seen him in many movies before, but this is his best performance yet. I didn’t feel like I was looking at an actor, I felt like I was looking at a real person. I felt close to the character at times, and cared for him. He definitely deserves a nomination. Keira Knightley was great too, but didn’t steal the show like Cumberbatch. She was very good, but nothing so special. The rest of the cast are also very good.

This movie really blew me away and interested me a lot. I now want to know a lot more about Alan Turing and this story. Overall, I loved this film and would highly recommend it. One of the best films this year, and one of the year’s best performances, from Benedict Cumberbatch. A definite Oscar contender, and a must-see.

The Imitation Game (2014) Poster