The Oscars are tomorrow and here are my predictions, i will be listing my Think and Wants with a brief explanation on why i chose them. Now this year's Oscars are not the greatest and some of the nominations are pretty awful but here are the predictions.
BEST PICTURE
Think - Manchester by the Sea
This is the type of film that the Oscars love, its more about the performances than the film itself and it comes across as a "walking movie" it would not surprise me if this one best picture.
Want - Fences
Fences is the other realistic choice for best picture. Its a period piece and Denzel is no stranger to the Oscars.
Now i believe that if Manchester wins Denzel will win best actor. If Fences wins Casey will win best actor. If i were to go with what really should win then the answer will be Arrival.
BEST ACTOR
Think - Casey Affleck
This is the type of performance that all actors wins awards for. Casey is a good actor and does deserve praise but this comes across as typical Oscar bait
Want- Denzel Washington
Denzel is a great actor and consistently puts in decent performances and out of all the actors nominated he should win.
BEST ACTRESS
Think - Emma Stone
Now this is where my cynicism starts, she was not great in this film and should not win, but she will.
P.S I may be posting a blog about how i hate La La Land tomorrow.
Want - Natalie Portman
I can't explain why i want her to win but it just feels right.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Think - Mahershala Ali
Moonlight needs at least one win and this will be the one.
Want - Michael Shannon
Why not, i think is a fine actor, it will be novel.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Think - Viola Davis
People are raving about her performance and I believe she will win.
Want - Nicole Kidman
Again this is just one i feel will win.
BEST DIRECTION
Think - La La Land
Of course this will win, I personally don't see why it deserves any nominations but here we are.
Want - Arrival
I want this to win because I have faith in Blade Runner 2049.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Think and Want - Kubo and the Two Strings
This is one that deserves to win just because of the art style.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Think - La La Land
Again it will win for some reason.
Want - Silence
This film looks beautiful. Thats It.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Think - Jackie
Its a period piece in the 60's.
Want - Fantastic Beasts
The costumes looked very good shame about the overall quality of the film.
BEST EDITING
Think - La La Land
All the technicals will go to La La Land, if it gets one it gets them all.
Want - Hacksaw Ridge
War films usually win for editing.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR
Think and Want - Star Trek
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Think and Want - La La Land
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Think - Can't Stop the Feeling
Want - City of Stars
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Think - Hail Caesar!
Want - Arrival
BEST SOUND EDITING
Think - Arrival
Want - Hacksaw Ridge
BEST SOUND MIXING
Think and Want - 13 Hours
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Think and Want - Jungle Book
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Think and Want - Fences
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Think and Want - Manchester by the Sea
Overall the Oscars are not important in the grand scheme of things and we will forget what wins in a couple of months. Look forward to my La La Land rant tomorrow.
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Saturday, 25 February 2017
Friday, 17 February 2017
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Review
This review may contain spoilers.
Fantastic Beasts is a textbook definition of what is wrong with the modern blockbuster, both on a storytelling and cinematic level.
First off I would like to say that I enjoy a few of the Harry Potter films with POA being my personal favourite and feeling as if the last three were not great films. The biggest problem with Fantastic Beasts is the common problem of scale, for a film based in the Harry Potter universe the overall scope of the film is tiny and there is no sense of wonder.
It was only a month before the film came out that i started to gain interest in Fantastic Beasts, hoping it could be the perfect catalyst alongside Rogue One to revive the blockbuster. Now I am very cautious about hyping myself up for movies, I have been burnt too many times within the last couple of years but i thought that if we had a film that could at least match the sense of wonder and scale of the first few Harry Potter films then it would be a very fine film indeed.
Eddie Redmayne was the best part of Fantastic Beasts, hands down, it was so shocking to see an actor that was genuinely enthusiastic about being in a massive film, in both his performance and behind the scenes he comes across as giddy. I really enjoyed watching Redmayne play this type of role and its a shame that the film around him was not better because his performance was amazing. Everyone else on the other hand were forgettable, none of the characters really worked and Dan Fogler was the live action Jar Jar Binks. Collin Farrell didn't really come across as a real threat and the reveal that he was Johnny Depp was silly and felt rushed.
The story felt limited both in scope and as a narrative within a grand universe. Some beasts going missing in New York could have been a good side plot to something far greater. The film does try and flesh out the wizarding world of America but nothing really sticks, rather than being a film within the universe of Harry Potter it feels like someone desperately trying to make a Harry Potter film without caring about the film-making that helped make Harry Potter so believable.
It must come as no surprise that i had issues with the cinematography in this film, for a film set in a wizarding world it was awfully dull and washed out. What is the big thing about having a washed out image, its really distracting when the foreground does not blend with the background and everything is very disjointed, it could be down to the cameras being used but it is obvious to me that it should stop. The visual effects are horrible, why did they not learn from The Force Awakens that using practical effects is a far superior option and it is not like the film had a limited budget. It is becoming a problem a massive problem that these studios and film makers don't understand the importance of making the frame feel believable. Why spend upwards of $100 million when it looks worse than some $20 million films.
Overall Fantastic Beasts is a film with massive potential, but was squandered by a lacking story and poor film making and the one saving grace being the performance of Redmayne. A cynical attempt to cash in on the "cinematic universe" craze and the Harry Potter franchise. Not the worst film of 2016 but certainly one of the most disappointing.
6/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Fantastic Beasts is a textbook definition of what is wrong with the modern blockbuster, both on a storytelling and cinematic level.
First off I would like to say that I enjoy a few of the Harry Potter films with POA being my personal favourite and feeling as if the last three were not great films. The biggest problem with Fantastic Beasts is the common problem of scale, for a film based in the Harry Potter universe the overall scope of the film is tiny and there is no sense of wonder.
It was only a month before the film came out that i started to gain interest in Fantastic Beasts, hoping it could be the perfect catalyst alongside Rogue One to revive the blockbuster. Now I am very cautious about hyping myself up for movies, I have been burnt too many times within the last couple of years but i thought that if we had a film that could at least match the sense of wonder and scale of the first few Harry Potter films then it would be a very fine film indeed.
Eddie Redmayne was the best part of Fantastic Beasts, hands down, it was so shocking to see an actor that was genuinely enthusiastic about being in a massive film, in both his performance and behind the scenes he comes across as giddy. I really enjoyed watching Redmayne play this type of role and its a shame that the film around him was not better because his performance was amazing. Everyone else on the other hand were forgettable, none of the characters really worked and Dan Fogler was the live action Jar Jar Binks. Collin Farrell didn't really come across as a real threat and the reveal that he was Johnny Depp was silly and felt rushed.
The story felt limited both in scope and as a narrative within a grand universe. Some beasts going missing in New York could have been a good side plot to something far greater. The film does try and flesh out the wizarding world of America but nothing really sticks, rather than being a film within the universe of Harry Potter it feels like someone desperately trying to make a Harry Potter film without caring about the film-making that helped make Harry Potter so believable.
It must come as no surprise that i had issues with the cinematography in this film, for a film set in a wizarding world it was awfully dull and washed out. What is the big thing about having a washed out image, its really distracting when the foreground does not blend with the background and everything is very disjointed, it could be down to the cameras being used but it is obvious to me that it should stop. The visual effects are horrible, why did they not learn from The Force Awakens that using practical effects is a far superior option and it is not like the film had a limited budget. It is becoming a problem a massive problem that these studios and film makers don't understand the importance of making the frame feel believable. Why spend upwards of $100 million when it looks worse than some $20 million films.
Overall Fantastic Beasts is a film with massive potential, but was squandered by a lacking story and poor film making and the one saving grace being the performance of Redmayne. A cynical attempt to cash in on the "cinematic universe" craze and the Harry Potter franchise. Not the worst film of 2016 but certainly one of the most disappointing.
6/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
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