LOGAN (2017)

So, I haven't updated my blog lately. Real life has been crazy lately,I am  still trying to survive tho. I am going to do a review from some movies I still remember.watched movie here and there but not in a mood to review it. So here I am going to start with Logan.

Can I say this movie is amazing? and can't be beaten easily. The movie revolves an around old, and frustrated Logan (who is a limousine driver). He, along with Charles Xavier (superbly played by Patrick Stewart) are waiting to finish off their lives in peace. It's 2029 and in this new world, where mutants have been exterminated and there are few of them left hiding, Logan is a man adrift in a world that no longer needs him. Caring for his former mentor who he has to control for his own good, he is a man without a true purpose and who is hurrying towards death.

2017 Academy Award Winners

In an epic flub that drew gasps of horror — and joy — at the Dolby Theater here, Faye Dunaway mistakenly named “La La Land” best picture at the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday night, but in reality “Moonlight” won the top prize.

The producers of “La La Land” were still thanking their families and fellow artists when the interjection came that “Moonlight” had in fact won, as everyone wondered if that was a joke. But it wasn’t, and the “La La Land” people quickly exited the stage as producers and stars of “Moonlight,” just as stunned as everyone else, walked on.

Lion (2016)

Lion is based on Saroo Brierly's book "A Long Way Home," which chronicles his search for his biological mother from whom he was separated under strange and devastating circumstances when he was five years old. This film has been on my to-do list since I first noticed it a couple of months ago. And it turned out this movie is the best tear jerker movie of this year for me.

The story tells about 5-year-old, vulnerable Indian boy Saroo who gets lost on a train and travels thousands of miles across India away from his dear family. Saroo faces many hardships of life all by himself. Eventually he is taken in and adopted by a caring Australian couple. Years later Saroo feels a part of himself missing and is filled with murky memories of his past as a young child in India. Using Google Earth, Saroo is determined and passionate to find his lost family through the use of this tool.

Hidden Figures

This is the true story of three African-American women who worked for NASA on the Mercury program in the early 1960s. Solid performances by all, some laugh-out-loud scenes, and some very emotional moments. It's also an important look back at the civil rights issues of the time period. The climax is a bit Apollo 13ish, and I'm fairly certain some scenes were embellished, but who cares. You should walk away from this film smiling.

The movie takes place in the 1960s where sexism and racial discrimination is still at a high. There is fear of the Soviet Union since they already have the technology to send astronauts into space, though there is still hope for America. Hidden Figures deals not just with their work at NASA but also the challenges they face in their personal lives, both as friends and individually as wives and parents.

BAFTAs 2017: full list of nominations

Amy Adams' two films Nocturnal Animals and Arrival are the closest competitors with nine apiece, and she will face her own battle in the category for Leading Actress for the latter, against Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman.

Arrival takes nine nominations, which shows that this visually ravishing sci-fi drama about Amy Adams’ linguistic professor trying to understand aliens might well make much more of an impression on Bafta voters than on the electors of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Golden Globe Award Winners 2017: The Complete List

Sunday night's Golden Globe awards was all about La La Land, with Damien Chazelle's L.A.-set musical winning a record seven awards. But a number of other multiple nominees weren't as lucky. Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea, which went into the evening with six and five nominations each, respectively, only one won award apiece. To be fair, the prizes they did take home were big ones: best motion picture drama for Moonlight and best actor in a motion picture drama for Manchester's Casey Affleck. Experts had Moonlight also winning either best supporting actor (Mahershala Ali) or best screenplay, with Manchester tapped as the nominee that should win for screenplay and best motion picture drama.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge Of Spies is a historical drama film starring Tom Hanks, co-written by the Coen brothers, and directed by Steven Spielberg. Even though its subject matter of the Cold War is something I know very little about, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am now more interested than ever to learn more about it. I rank it among the best of Spielberg's most recent movies.

In a story based on true events, Hanks plays James Donovan (diverging somewhat from reality here) as an insurance lawyer dragged by his firm into defending Rudolf Abel, the accused Soviet spy played exquisitely by British stage acting legend Mark Rylance. Against this backdrop, the international blue touch paper is about to be lit by the shooting down over Russia of Gary Powers (Austin Stowell from "Whiplash") in his U-2 spy plane (sorry – "article"). Donovan becomes instrumental in unofficially negotiating on behalf of the US government the release of Powers in East Berlin. The deal is jeopardized by his boy-scout tendencies to also want to help another US captive Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers).

Sicario (2015)

Sicario is a completely engrossing, beautifully shot, terrifically acted thriller that exceeds expectations. I didn't know what to expect from this film, but I was surprised that from the opening shot the film had me hooked. I won't give away the opening scene, but I'd find it hard to believe that you're bored after seeing that. Sicario is a completely engrossing, beautifully shot, terrifically acted thriller that exceeds expectations. I didn't know what to expect from this film, but I was surprised that from the opening shot the film had me hooked. I won't give away the opening scene, but I'd find it hard to believe that you're bored after seeing that.

As much as I hate to say this I have to, this film isn't for everybody. The trailers are rather misleading as I was expecting, the film is good if you give it your patience because it will be slow and "boring" for some so you have been warned. As far as my experience I can say that this film threw my heartbeat off by the end, there were times where it gets unbelievably tense and I can say that it made my heart skip a beat at a couple moments.

The Walk (2015)

The basic story of The Walk is this: a French street performer becomes obsessed with hanging a high wire between the two Twin Towers and walking on it. He flies to New York, recruits a few people to help him, and after weeks of of planning, is ready to perform an impossible stunt that will be remembered forever. The script is very well written and the story comes across very nicely to the viewer. It focuses on all the right moments for the right amount of time, which means the pacing is generally good. My only problem arises in the beginning as I felt it was a little rushed. Character development is also not the finest, but it is enough to make the viewer care about the characters. Other than that the story was told in a very captivating way that left viewer on the edge of their seat.

The Walk is a drama/thriller with a spice of romance and comedy. Because it is based on a true story, it makes this movie even cooler and much more intense! This is also an educational movie because I didn't know much about high-wire artists until this movie. I learned that there is a lot of science and math about how the wire is secured to provide safety for the walker.

Southpaw (2015)

Southpaw follows Billy "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, having an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, house and manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis, a former fighter who trains the city's toughest boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.

Jake Gyllenhaal giving a ferocious performance as a down on his luck boxer was truly a grand experience. He really stuck to his character by bringing such a mad man to the ring and a man who would strive to make his family a whole once again, one wondrous performance I must say. One person other than Jake that really stood out was Forest Whitaker, he easily gave one of the best performances of this year so far!

Black Mass (2015)

'Black Mass' is another is a line of crime dramas set in Boston. The film will inevitable be compared to 'The Departed.' And it falls short in the comparison. The acting is top rate, and Depp is much better, not as hammy, than the comic portrait of a crime boss by Nicholson in 'The Departed.' Depp is genuinely threatening in the film and the make-up job given him in the film adds to the fright.

The movie although fairly interesting in retrospect isn't as thoroughly interesting as I was hoping. The dialogue is decent throughout and I would go as far as to say it was great in a couple of scenes but at other times it wasn't as interesting. But the major drawback was the pacing, I was hoping for something similar to a Martin Scorsese gangster flick where it's fast paced and interesting from first frame to last and I didn't get that. Instead this film has lots of slow moments and I was actually dozing a bit and I don't get bored easy at all I love slow movies just as long as something semi interesting is happening. BUT dont get me wrong I think its a very decent movie eventhough I cant really enjoy because of the violent.

Spirit Awards 2015: The Complete Winners List

The 30th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards are being handed out today in a tent on the beach in lovely Santa Monica. Keep up with the winners as they are announced below.

Best Feature
"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" - WINNER
"Boyhood"
"Love is Strange"
"Selma"
"Whiplash"

Best Director
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"   
Ava DuVernay, "Selma"
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" - WINNER
David Zellner, "Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter"

2015 BAFTA Award Winners

The BAFTA Awards are being held on Sunday, with nominees including “Birdman,” “Boyhood” and more. Variety will be updating live with a full winners list here. See the full list of nominees, and winners as they’re announced, below.

BEST FILM
“Boyhood,” Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland (WINNER)
“Birdman,” Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole
“The GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL,” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
“The Imitation Game,” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
“The Theory of Everything,” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony Mccarten

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
“The Theory of Everything,” James Marsh, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony Mccarten (WINNER)
“’71,” Yann Demange, Angus Lamont, Robin Gutch, Gregory Burke
“The Imitation Game,” Morten Tyldum, Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman, Graham Moore
“Paddington,” Paul King, David Heyman
“Pride,” Matthew Warchus, David Livingstone, Stephen Beresford
“Under the Skin,” Jonathan Glazer, James Wilson, Nick Wechsler, Walter Campbell

Selma (2014)

This movie had a great cast, great story, and was very entertaining and well written. David Oyelowo, although a tad inconsistent early on, elevated to another level when he transformed before your eyes to a dynamic and vulnerable Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. Toward the end of the movie, his performance was so strong, if he was not actually shown on the screen, you couldn't tell if if was an old recording of MLK or David Oyelowo himself.

It's probably hard for young people to believe that segregation and race hatred were the norm in our nation just 50 years ago. (Yes, the South was worse than other parts of the country, but segregation was everywhere.) We now take it for granted that everyone has the right to vote, and that we can have an African-American President.

"Selma" shows us how this progress came about. It came about because of the incredible bravery of African-American people, and because of the astute tactics of the leaders of the civil rights movement.

Birdman (2014)

Where should I begin? Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will go down as one of the greatest filmmakers to ever live. Birdman is one of the most creative films I've ever seen.

The plot involves a washed up actor named Riggan(Michael Keaton) trying to put on a stage play, in an attempt to revive his career. This is the most impeccable casting I've ever seen. Keaton, of course has a career that parallels Riggan's, playing a superhero and becoming more obscure once that ended over 20 years ago. The characters we meet along the way are equally interesting. There's Mike Shiner(Edward Norton), an actor who is perfect on the stage and anything but off it. Riggan's daughter Sammy(Emma Stone), who was neglected by her father and became addicted to drugs. Riggan's ex-wife(Amy Ryan) is also interesting in the way she so easily lets him manipulate her.

Its also a bit like watching a Quentin Tarantino production. The support characters are very strong, and creates a series of tense moments and scenes. You start to wonder... What's going to happen in this scene? Whats going to happen in the next few seconds? The subtext about advantage of ignorance is also good, and works at several layers. As are the outrageous scenes, most of which are confined in the tunnels of a Broadway theater. Its fast paced in many parts, with fast dialogue. So it can a bit hard to catch, for those not familiar with English. Which is interesting considering the writer/director's first language is Spanish.

2015 Golden Globes Winners

Sorry late to post, but her is your 2015 Golden Globe Winners. are you happy? hopefully. 

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Winner: Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

Lead Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Winner: Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo – Selma

Lead Actress in a Motion Picture- Drama
Winner: Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Jennifer Aniston – Cake
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
Winner: The Grand BUDAPEST HOTEL
Birdman
Into the Woods
Pride
St. Vincent

Lead Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical
Winner: Michael Keaton – Birdman
Ralph Fiennes – Grand BUDAPEST HOTEL
Bill Murray – St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix – Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz – Big Eyes

Lead Actress – TV Drama
Winner: Ruth Wilson – The Affair
Claire Danes – Homeland
Viola Davis – How to Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife
Robin Wright – House of Cards

Director
Winner: Richard Linklater – BoyhoodWes Anderson – Grand Budapest Hotel
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman

2015 BAFTA Nominees

Awards Season is everywhere, now it;s BAFTA time to announce their nominees. 

Here is the full list of nominations for the 2015 Bafta Film Awards.

Best film

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

The Theory of Everything

Outstanding British film

'71

The Imitation Game

Paddington

Pride

The Theory of Everything

Under The Skin

Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game

Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler

Michael Keaton - Birdman

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Actress

Amy Adams - Big Eyes

Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore - Still Alice

Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon - Wild

Supporting actor

Steve Carell - Foxcatcher

Ethan Hawke - Boyhood

Edward Norton - Birdman

Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher

JK Simmons - Whiplash

Supporting actress

Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

Rene Russo - Nightcrawler

Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game

Imelda Staunton - Pride

Emma Stone - Birdman

Director

Wes Anderson - Grand Budapest Hotel

Damian Chazelle - Whiplash

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman

Richard Linklater - Boyhood

James Marsh - The Theory of Everything

American Sniper (2014)

American Sniper is Clint Eastwood's harrowing take on Chris Kyle's life and his service in the Navy as a SEAL sniper who killed nearly 200 enemy soldiers. The film is relentlessly violent and disturbing but honors the life of the late Chris Kyle in a very admirable way. It doesn't show this man as an invincible legend, it shows him as a mere man with a heart and soul that are clearly broken due to his sacrifice for his country.

Good work on Bradley Cooper's part as well, putting on the weight and getting into character to play Chris Kyle, a sniper for the navy seals who did four tours in Iraq protecting his fellow troops by being a legendary shot. the Movie explores Kyle having to deal with a rival sniper who was keeping him from doing the job of protecting his troops and having to deal with coming home to his wife and kids feeling that his mission was incomplete.

Foxcatcher (2014)

Channing Tatum stars as Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz. When we first meet him, he's already reached elite status by winning a gold medal. But the achievement hasn't allowed him to escape the shadow of his older brother, Dave, also a gold medalist. The younger Schultz wants more. He wants to be the best. His past prize also doesn't pay the bills. After training sessions, he's eating ramen noodles. All that changes, however, with a phone call from du Pont (Steve Carell) who offers to pay him and set him up in a first-class training facility on his Pennsylvania estate.

Steve Carell is going to get an Oscar nomination for this. He has finally proved to audiences that he can undertake and perfect dramatic acting. There is not one specific scene in the film that showcases this talent rather his performance as a whole. He is John Du Pont. They plaster on him a fake nose, make him look much older, and voilà you have Steve Carell looking like Du Pont. Next, he masterfully had to act like Du Pont. His struggle to prove to his mother he can do something and his sickening obsession with Mark and Dave give us that eerie feeling he is up to no good. Steve Carell freaked me out in this film. If it were up to me, I would absolutely give him a nomination and probably the Oscar.

Mr Turner (2014)

We always knew that "Mr Turner" would not be a conventional costume picture any more than it would be a conventional biopic. It is, after all, a Mike Leigh film and Mr Leigh doesn't do 'conventional'. Of course, he normally concerns himself with the vagaries of contemporary middle-class culture, poking fun at, and then finding the bleeding heart of, the little people who inhabit his very personal world. (Leigh is, perhaps, the only writer/director who can crack us up and break our hearts simultaneously).

"Mr Turner" isn't the first time he has looked to the past nor to real historical figures for his material. With "Topsy-Turvy" he created the world of Gilbert and Sullivan and 'The Mikado'. As musical biopics go it is, perhaps, unique. Now with "Mr Turner" he takes us deep into the life of William Turner, arguably the first great 'modern' painter and almost certainly the greatest of all English painters, and in doing so has created the least stuffy costume picture I have ever seen. Of the several masterpieces Leigh has given us "Mr Turner" may be the finest.