May 2018

May 2018

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Two Nominees In One Day

Saw La La Land at the theater today, and Hell or High Water through Amazon this evening. Two drastically different films, yet each left me wondering why the Academy nominated it for Best Movie.

While I enjoy an entertaining song-and-dance movie infrequently, I rarely think they qualify for Best Movie. How can a good drama compare to a good musical? Seems to me there should be a separate category for musicals.

That said, La La Land was just an OK movie. Fun but slow moving, and without any of the strong dancing seen in the oldies such as Singing In The Rain, Flashdance, or Dirty Dancing. Plus there weren't any new songs that you just can't get out of your head, or that make you want to get up and move.

Going from La La Land to Hell or High Water was a huge jump. Hell or High Water is far from a fun movie. Instead it's an extremely depressing story sprinkled with violence. I definitely would not have watched it had it not been a nominee. However, Jeff Bridges does deserve his nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And it was interesting to see Chris Pine in such a different role from that of Captain Kirk (Star Trek Beyond) and Jack Ryan (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit).

So now I've seen three of the Best Movie nominees. Not sure I'll be able to, or even want to, see all nine. But it's a fun challenge during the slower winter months.


1 comment:

Rita said...

've been puzzled by some of the nominations over the past several years, actually. But I am always curious to see them, too. :)