At Academy Awards time though, it is different. Movies are a part of our culture, and I like to be up on our cultural literacy. For the last five or more years we have tired to watch as many of the nominated "Best Picture" movies as we can, and also some of the best actor movies. This year we saw seven of the eight nominated movies, skipping only "Mad Max: Fury Road", which we have no intention of seeing.
Post-apocalyptic movies are not our thing, with all of the bloody battling of the evil forces. There are plenty of real evil forces right here and now, and in our recent history, to battle. In fact three of the nominated movies, plus one that should have been nominated, do just that. I call them the important message movies of the year.
"The Big Short" exposes some of the greed and gambling with our futures that went on, and continues to go on to a certain extent, on Wall Street. It is fast paced, not easy to follow, and revealing. It is a very good movie.
"Bridge of Spies", set during the cold war, reminds us that not all enemies are evil but fear mongering can make us lose our reasonableness and decide that they are. One man's courage and humanity accomplishes more than shows of force can, and shows us that the "bad guy" spy isn't really a bad guy at all.
"Trumbo", not nominated, but perhaps my favorite, is also set during the cold war. Dalton Trumbo is a Hollywood screenwriter who was one of the "Hollywood Ten", behind-the-scenes movie men who had joined the Communist Party in a movement that started in the Depression years. In 1947, Russia was our enemy, so these Communists, who were really socialists, had to be investigated. It is a shameful time in our history, where again, fear mongering, lies and deception on the part of politicians led to forcing people to take sides.
"Spotlight", which won Best Picture, is another really good movie. Spotlight was the name of a small team of investigative journalists who spent years delving into the claims of sexual abuse against priests of the Catholic Church in Boston. Their revelations led to nationwide investigations. While much abuse was revealed, few were punished, and charges and cases are ongoing.
Then there are what I call the Personal Struggle movies. "Brooklyn" is a sweet movie about a young woman who comes to New York from Ireland in the 1950's seeking opportunity. This is a gentle film with a happy ending.
"Room" is heart wrenching. A young woman who has been abducted and held in a shed as basically a sex slave gives birth to a child. The child is five years old as the film takes place and it is that little boy who gives the woman reason to finally brave the attempt to escape her capture.
"The Martian" is a very entertaining movie about an astronaut stranded on Mars. Played by Matt Damon, he is so charismatic and clever and ingenious that you root for him as he attempts to stay alive until he can be rescued.
There is nothing fun about "The Revenant". Leonardo DeCaprio deserved his Oscar for this never ending struggle to stay alive the harshest of conditions. We did not like this movie and felt it was over-the-top for its brutality. There may have been a message - Revenge can keep you alive, or revenge doesn't pay, or just "keep breathing". You'll have to decide, just like you will have to decide the ending.
"The Danish Girl", with a best actor nomination for Eddie Redmayne, was another movie of personal struggle, this time of a man who should have been a woman at a time when transgender issues were treated as insanity. It is compelling and charming and sad.
We watch a lot of television in the evenings, with at least one hour long drama each night, except on Saturdays. Fortunately we still have a few more quality movies we can now see at home for our Saturday nights: "Carol", "Steve Jobs", "Youth", "Joy" and "Grandma".
Do you have anymore to put on our list?
I like to go to a movie at the theater. Do that every once in a great while with friends. But I find it pretty hard to keep up with all the nominations. I did see Martian.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment of the movies from the awards. I haven't had a chance yet to see Trumbo but plan to as soon as it comes here. I've seen the five you list at the end and think they were all worth seeing but nothing stands out as especially good. I'm glad The Revenant didn't win Best Picture. After seeing some of these movies, I read the books they were based on. I really enjoyed The Martian and Room, both of them as much or more than the movies. :-)
ReplyDeleteGolly, you are really up on current movies. We seldom see them and I haven't been in a movie theater in years. There's a new theater down on Ruston Way that looks interesting so maybe that'll change soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen we watched the awards on Sunday, I didn't even recognize some of the movies or stars of such.
ReplyDeletethanks for some suggestions on movies to avoid and some I'd like to see.
ReplyDeleteWow, I am impressed. Just occurred to me that slipping off to my neighborhood theater for an afternoon movie might be a very good escape for me when I need a little distance from my role as a care giver. I'm clueless though about where you go to learn about movies. Think I'll investigate that.
ReplyDeleteEventually I will see most of these, but perhaps not until they are on TV. We don't get the best movies down this way...just the most popular. I felt the same about Revenant as you did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the Revenant. Haven't seen the others you've reviewed. I did see Joy and Steve Jobs -- both are okay, in my book, but not great (altho' I thought Kate Winslet did a great "job" in the Jobs movie). I have The Martian up next in my queue -- and I want to see Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your take on the movies. I don't watch movies or TV but I should. It seems that insecurity and fear are major themes that we don't need.
ReplyDeleteI think the last movie we saw in a movie theater was "Australia," about six years ago. That tells you how interested we are in seeing movies. I would like to try Netflix, though. I enjoyed you evaluation of today's most popular movies.
ReplyDeleteWe don't do to the movie theater too many germs. We wait til whatever comes on TV or to Netflix. I go occasionally to the movies with Adam when he wants to go and no one else is thrilled by his movie choice:)
ReplyDeleteNice synopsis of those movies. Sadly this year I had not seen one of the awarded movies. The closest theater here is a 3 hour trip. The only one I really, really wanted to see was Martian. I may have to sign up to Netflix again.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the synopsis of those movies. We only saw Martian and Revenant. We liked Martian. Art sort of liked Revenant, I think, but I'm so so. It was just too violent.
ReplyDeleteThank you for these synopses; we do want to see Trumbo and Brooklyn. I do not want to see Revenant, too violent. My husband and I saw Bridge of Spies and The Martian and they are wonderful films.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate an honest and thoughtful review of movies as I hate to waste time in the theater at a movie I hate. Too many things going on this year to see any of the nominees, but will try to catch some on Netflix later. Definitely have no interest in The Revenant or Mad Max. I like a good story, well developed characters that I can care about, and some humor. I don't go to the movies to learn - I go to be entertained. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. We haven't been to a movie for so long. We also seldom wish to pay the cost of a movie to watch it at home. I am interested in seeing some of these.
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