My Thoughts on the 2016 Academy Award Nominations (A.K.A: Why the Academy Wants to Make Me Cry)

It's that time of year again my friends! Oscar time!! The Academy Award nominations were announced on Thursday, and I've taken a few days to think on things. So here are my thoughts.

Ridley Scott didn't get a Best Director nomination, what the crap?! If you read my last blog post, you'll know that The Marian was one of my favorite films of last year. And Ridley Scott deserves a lot of credit for what he did with that movie. I just can't believe Lenny Abrahamson got nominated over Ridley Scott. I've heard next to no award buzz for The Room, in fact I didn't even realize it had already come out! I'm just really annoyed by this!

But I am really happy that Matt Damon got a Best Actor nomination for The Martian!! I still can't believe that he doesn't have an Oscar yet (I realize he does already have an Oscar, but it's for screenwriting, not acting, so I'm not counting that!)! He is a terrific actor and I know he probably won't win this, but still so happy he got recognized for his performance! If you haven't seen it yet, what is wrong with you?

The Best Actor category is one that's really going to mess with me this year. Most people think that Michael Fassbender is going to win for his performance in Steve Jobs. And that would make me soooo happy! I've loved Fassbender for years! I think he is one of the best working actors today, and he sooo deserves an Oscar! But I've been waiting wayyyy longer for Damon to get an Oscar, so this category has me really torn!! Why Academy?!! Why do you have to mess with my emotions like this?!! Do you want to make me cry with frustration? Do you?!

So glad that Saoirse Ronan (try pronouncing that name correctly John Travolta!) got a Best Actress nomination!! I really love her, and I can't wait to see the film Brooklyn, I've heard great things about it! And Cate Blanchett was nominated yet again. Not complaining, she's one of the best actresses of our generation. But it does seem like she's becoming the new Meryl Streep.  The Academy is like: "oh she was in something this year? Let's nominate her!" But I guess that's not a bad thing.

But you know what is a bad thing? The fact that Jennifer Lawrence got another Best Actress nomination. And for Joy, of all things?! I've haven't heard ANY award buzz for that film (other than the Golden Globes, but they have like zero credibility)! Alicia Vikander deserved to get in this category for Ex Machina (I've heard it's an INCREDIBLE film and a unforgettable performance). Ugh, I'm one of the few people who doesn't think Lawrence even DESERVED to win an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook. Way to drop the ball Academy!

Yay! Alicia Vikander got a Supporting Actress nomination at least!! And I'm always happy when Kate Winslet gets a nomination! So good job Academy!

Wow, Sylvester Stallone got an Academy Award nomination. Best Supporting Actor, Sylvester Stallone, for playing Rocky. I have no words.

But yay! Mark Ruffalo got another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor!! If you read my thoughts on last year's nominations, you know how much I love him!

Wow, Inside Out got a nomination for Best Original Screenplay! I did really enjoy the film, but I did not expect that to happen! Although the Academy does enjoy nominating Pixar films in this category: Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Up all managed to get nominations. Was Inside Out as good as those films? Not in my personal opinion, but whatever. It does seem like the Academy nominates Pixar films in this category as kind of an apology for not nominating them for Best Picture. In fact the Academy has only nominated 2 Pixar films for the Best Picture category: Up and Toy Story 3. Neither won by the way. And no, Inside Out didn't get a Best Picture nomination, I don't think it deserved one. But I know a lot of people were upset by this.

Also interesting to see Straight Out of Compton get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. I didn't think the Academy would recognize this film at all. Good for it though! Also surprising was Ex Machina getting a nomination in this category. Yay! Many people were hoping for it to get a Best Picture nomination, but oh well.

Also kind of surprising that Tarantino didn't get a nomination for The Hateful 8 screenplay. It seems like every time he makes a film, he at the very least gets nominated in this category.

John Williams got another Best Score nomination for Star Wars: the Force Awakens! That brings his total Oscar nominations to 50. The only person with more Oscar nominations is Walt Disney, he got 59. You can totally tie him John Williams! I believe in you!! I just love him, but who doesn't?!

What?! Fifty Shades of Grey got a nomination for Best Song?!!! Are you kidding me?!! It got a nomination, but the beautiful and poignant song "See You Again" from Furious 7 didn't?!! What are you smoking Academy?!!! I can't even talk about this anymore I'm so upset!!

Best Makeup seems like it had slim pickings this year doesn't it? I guess no one got painted green or turned into an orc this year, huh?

Yay!!! Cinderella got a nomination for Best Costume!!! It sooooo deserved it!!! It has to win right? RIGHT?!!! Don't screw with me Academy!!!

Well the Best Animated Feature category seems pretty standard. No GIANT snubs like last year (I'm never going to let the fact that the Lego Movie wasn't even NOMINATED go, like ever!)! Although I was surprised The Peanuts Movie didn't get a nomination. It had really good reviews, but it's not like it had any hope of winning. It's Inside Out's category all the way!!

I do think that Star War: the Force Awakens should have at least gotten a nomination for Best Picture. Especially since there can be 10 films in this category now. I'm not saying it was the best film of the year, but it got great reviews and people really loved it. Plus I know it got better reviews than Bridge of Spies and that got a nomination, so what gives Academy?! I of all people think that a STAR WARS film deserved to get nominated, and that's saying a lot!!

Anyway those are my thoughts on the 2016 Oscar nominations. Don't forget to watch the awards on February 28th!!! Also if you wanted the full nominations list here is a link: http://collider.com/2016-oscar-nominations-announced/.

My Top 5 Movies of 2015

Well 2015 has come and gone. And since everyone else seems to be making a top 10 list of their favorite films of the past year, I figured I'd get in on it too. However you probably noticed from the title that this is a top 5 list not a top 10. And the reason for that is that I only saw about 12 films last year (that were released in 2015 that is). So a top 10 least didn't seem like it would really make that much sense. But a top 5 list? That I can do.

So for starters, this is a list of my favorite films of 2015. I realize these might not necessarily be the best (and best is a very subjective thing anyways) but these are the films I enjoyed the most this past year. Basically what I'm saying is that I know that most of these films aren't going to win a best picture Oscar or anything like that, but they do win a place on my list. Also I've only seen most of these films once, so the order of my list might change later on. Rewatchability can be an important factor to consider. Also I'll try and be as vague as possible, so no spoilers here if you haven't seen these films!

Side note, I know the Oscar nominations came out today but I'm still processing my thoughts on the snubs and surprises, so look for that rant in the next couple of days!

Anyway, on to the list!

5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

I love the MI movies, they always have great action and amazing stunts (mostly because Tom Cruise is a crazy person, but that makes for some unforgettable stunts!)! And this one was no exception, in the first 10 minutes Cruise is hanging of the back of a plane while it takes off (that's not a spoiler, you see that in the trailer!)! While I did think the last MI movie was slightly better, this one was still fun and I enjoyed it immensely. And there is an underwater scene that is AMAZING!! Plus Simon Pegg had more screen time than the last film and when is that ever a bad thing?

4. Cinderella

For those of you that know me, this should come as no surprise. I'm a HUGE fairy tale geek and a TOTAL Disneyphile. Plus it had Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother, I mean COME ON!! Also Sir. Kenneth Branagh directed this, and he did a fantastic job! Lily James was superb as the title character (I've loved her since Downton Abbey so I'm very pleased she's getting big movie roles!). Richard Madden was a terrific prince (I'm totally in love with him now btw). To sum up: it has an incredible cast and it is wonderfully directed. It takes elements from the Disney animated version, the fairy tale, and it manages to show a fresh new take on the classic tale. It's so good I saw it twice in the theater! The music is also amazing (it has a little bit of singing but nowhere near as much as the animated film). Overall a great new version of Cinderella that both kids and adults can enjoy!

3. The Martian

This is where it starts getting really tough, this film and the number 2 film were neck and neck for me. But for the moment my number 3 film is Ridley Scott's amazing film: The Martian. Let me start out by saying that I have read the book (and LOVED it btw) so I went in to this film with HIGH expectations. And I was not disappointed. While I would say the book is better (surprise, surprise) it is only slightly better. Matt Damon was the PERFECT choice to play the lead character, a astronaut stranded on Mars. The film was directed beautifully and all the supporting actors were amazing! And there is a scene that was funny in the book but was 10 times funnier in the film! I laughed so hard my sides hurt! That's really what people need to remember when watching this film, it has dramatic subject matter (man vs. nature) but it is really funny! I know Damon probably won't win the Oscar for this performance (the Best Actor category is really stacked this year) but that shouldn't detract from what an INCREDIBLE job he did. Especially considering the majority of this film is just him all alone on a desert planet. It's basically Cast Away meets Apollo 13, and why wouldn't you want to see that? To sum up: WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I know some of you just died of shock: a Star Wars film is ON my list of favorite films of the year?! And not just ON my list, it's NUMBER 2?!! Look I've always been very upfront about my dislike of Star Wars (other than Han Solo and R2-D2 there's not much I like about Star Wars). But I was actually hopeful about this film, J.J. Abrams directed it, and he's one of my favorite working directors right now. It had Andy Serkis and Lupita Nyong'o in it, and they're awesome. So I had my fingers crossed. And honestly I was just hoping it would be better than the Prequels (a low bar I know). But I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie! It introduced great new characters (I totally want to be best friends with Rey and am in love with Finn!), was really funny, and had Harrison Ford in it (and he wasn't phoning in his performance for once!). There were great action sequences, amazing dialogue, and terrific performances. All things that I need to really enjoy a film. So yes, hell has officially frozen over, I like a Star Wars movie! The end of days is probably just around the corner. But who knows? Maybe the next one will suck.

Drum roll please!

1. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Look I realize that not a lot of people actually saw this film, and that's a real shame, because it's AMAZING!! I just LOVED this movie sooooo much!!!! It has a great director (Guy Ritchie), a great cast (I want to be BFF's with Alicia Vikander after seeing this film!), and the best soundtrack since Guardians of the Galaxy!! The film is full of action, humor, and amazing outfits! It's a spy film set during in the 60's so you know the costumes and music have to be pretty awesome!! I remember watching this film and halfway through thinking "I can't wait to watch this again!" And that to me is why this film is my number 1!!! I saw it twice in the theater and made my family buy it for me for Christmas!! So yeah, I really, really, really liked this movie!!! A side note: it was based on a cheesy 60's television show, and yes I have seen many episodes of that show. This film managed to take the cool elements from the show, disregard the cheesiness, and infuse it with Guy Ritchie's unique style. I just wish this film did well enough to get a sequel. But you never know, stranger things have happened!!

So there you have it, my favorite 5 films of 2015. Some films that I really enjoyed but that didn't make this list were: Age of Ultron (just barely missed the cut, but still really liked this film), Inside Out (a really nice new Pixar movie, just not as good as Up or the Incredibles, if it was it'd be on my list!), and Jurassic World (not a great movie, but a really fun one!). Anyway, that's all for now, stay tuned for my reaction to the Oscar nominations!!