Friday, December 07, 2018

2018 Oscar Nominees


Worst to first:

Darkest Hour – So if Churchill hadn’t taken that subway ride, the British would have surrendered to the Nazis? Or perhaps a different passenger could have convinced him that surrender was the more prudent course of action?
Grade: C

Three Billboards – Tried to craft some multidimensional characters, but eh,
Grade: C+

The Shape of Water – Good writing, acting, score, and cinematography, but a truly ridiculous story.
Grade: B-

Dunkirk – Second movie of the year about the evacuation at Dunkirk. More of an edge-of-your-seat experience than Darkest Hour—which was more of a sleep inducing experience.
Grade: B

The Post – First half nearly put me to asleep, but the story was ultimately moving.
Grade: B

Call Me by Your Name – I’m torn. A touching father-to-son monologue on homosexuality, interesting characters, and a peek into the Italian countryside of the early 80’s, but also one of the most gratuitous scenes I’ve ever seen. The protagonist wasn’t surrounded by homophobes and didn’t suffer as much as his brethren in Brokeback Mountain and Moonlight, which, I suppose, adds a new dynamic to the critically acclaimed homosexual canon, so if you enjoyed those, this might be a logical next step.
Grade: B

Ladybird – Funny at times, good acting, touches on a lot topics, and for a guy like me it was an informative peek into white culture.
Grade: B+

*The Big Sick – Not nominated, but better than a lot of these. Obviously I’m a sucker for south Asian immigrant stories.
Grade: A-

Phantom Thread – I expected this to be the most boring of all, but ended up liking it a lot. Maybe Daniel Day Lewis really is the world's best actor.
Grade: A

Get Out – Highly original, can’t put this one in a genre.
Grade: A+

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