And the Oscar goes to… (2018 edition)

Time for my annual thoughts on the Best Picture nominations from this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. While not on the big screen to capture all their glory, it is fun to see what they were made of and to see if I felt the same as the Academy. This year all films were viewed using Blu-Ray discs.

Comments are based on personal preferences, and don't take into account popularity at the box office.

So without further ado here are my thoughts on this year's Best Picture Nominations for the 2017 Academy Awards presentation.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME – Oliver (Armie Hammer) is the summer intern hired by an Italian archeologist. Elio (Timothée Chalamet) is the archeologist’s teenage son trapped in the town, and entering his time of sexual and sensual exploration.

This film is basically about human interaction. No special effects. No amazing set decorations. The only extra thing that’s used to set the mood is a great background sound from Sufjan Stevens. While it’s not very loud as to dominate the scenes, it’s tempo and haunting sound helps intensify the mood as the main relationship in the film progresses.

Whereas last year’s official Best Picture winner, Moonlight, was more about following Chiron’s exploration with his sexuality, and very little of the actual sex act portrayed, exploration and sexual scenes are nearly equal partners in this film. Just a warning that it’s not a film for the children, or a first date where you’re still not completely comfortable with the other person.

DARKEST HOUR – The House of Commons has lost faith in their current leadership, and reluctantly rallies behind someone many consider having questionable leadership skills.

Darkest Hour is one of two WWII-themed films nominated for Best Picture this year. But, it’s not a “war” film in the traditional sense of the genre.

Rather, the film revolves around the choice of Winston Churchill as a replacement for Neville Chamberlain as leader, and the political intrigue not publicly known during the first few weeks of his administration.

Gary Oldman gives a career performance in the lead roll. Absolutely stellar. And it was helped along by the Oscar Award winning makeup and hair stylists who transformed the actor into a near double.  

DUNKIRK – Trapped against the English Channel, over 300,000 British and French troops seem to be destined for capture by the Nazis, only to be rescued by an impromptu flotilla of personal watercraft from English Coastal towns.

The film was very technical with all the effects and editing needed to pull it off. Unfortunately, it seemed more of an ensemble film, with nobody sticking out as a main protagonist. There was no real character development.

Dunkirk reminded me of the WWII classic The Longest Day. But, for me, that film succeeded because it was three hours long. Dunkirk wasn’t even two. Plus, it had significantly more name recognition in the cast, whereas Dunkirk had only a handful of big names, and most were on the screen in bits and pieces. 

 GET OUT – Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is nervous about meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Adding to the situation is that he’s African-American, while she is Caucasian and has not told them about his ethnicity.

The immediately hit it off, much to his relief. But, things start to get strange and he starts to think things aren’t necessarily what they seem to be.

Writer-director Jordan Peele is now breaking into feature films, after honing his craft in television production.

The basic premise of interracial relations served well at the beginning before the audience is left behind and draped with a surreal horror atmosphere. Though some scenes were slow in nature, I wasn’t bored, as the relatively short 104 minute run time kept pace.

 LADY BIRD – Lady Bird is a poster child for Teenage Angst. She thinks her mother hates her no matter what she does. Her father is apathetic. She has one goal, to leave her hometown of Sacramento, California as far off in the proverbial rearview mirror as she possibly can.

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, The Grand Budapest Hotel) is mesmerizing as the teenager, and it’s hard to remember she’s an adult at times.

Writer-Director Greta Gerwig takes us through Lady Bird’s senior year as she readies herself for college. Will it be an East Coast school of her choice, or the more practical choice of her mother, a local college? While not an autobiography, Gerwig knitted in her experiences of growing up in Sacramento into the story.

Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne, The Big Bang Theory) is great as the mom which Lady Bird believes hates her no matter what she does, and a good counter, grounded in life’s experiences, to the teen’s future looking mind.

The only complaint is the VERY abrupt ending the viewer is treated to.  

PHANTOM THREAD – Dresses from the House of Woodcock are prized around the World. But, in the mind of Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) you don’t own one of his creations. You are simply the occupier.

Along the way, Woodcock runs into Alma (Vicky Krieps), a restaurant waitress, who he sees as his perfect woman. Not because of her personality or beauty. But, because of her measurements.

The film is a tightly crafted by writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood, Punch Drunk Love, Boogie Nights). Unfortunately, that’s the best thing I can say about this film.

I had no love for any of the three main characters. Neither the narcissistic designer who was all about his designs, nor Cybil (Lesley Manville), the woman who stood in the shadows helping keep the design house running, nor Alma, Woodcock’s inspiration and love interest who gets pouty at the drop of a hat when she thinks she’s being ignored, or passed by.

THE POST – Daniel Ellsberg was a private contractor assigned to the American military. His role was an analyst. But, quickly became disillusioned with what he saw as a cover-up of the US’ march to war in Viet Nam.

Veteran actors Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep are surrounded by a seasoned ensemble. Both performances are solid. But, not the best of either careers.

The main focus of the film involved the Washington Post’s involvement with what is now known as the Pentagon Papers, and the decision on whether to publish their content, or not.

While it was interesting, I was disappointed that it ended when it did. So much is spent on the debate on whether to publish, yet very little on the actual trial. The film’s running time is just under two hours, so perhaps it was thought adding additional content would lose the audience. But, the trial decision had a major impact on the American Freedom of the Press, and is somewhat timely with the recent WikiLeaks scandal. 

THE SHAPE OF WATER – A cleaning crew (Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer)  stumbles into a top secret government study, eventually stealing the project to save it from the evil clutches of the government man (Michael Shannon) who would destroy it.

The special effects are amazing, and this certainly has to be one of the best designed films of the bunch. Unfortunately, I was turned off a tad bit by the outright sexual content that seemed to be added just to be added, which really didn’t advance the plot of the film in anyway. Some of the things would probably fly right over the head of some younger children. But, some would make for unavoidable conversations.

Doug Jones (Star Trek Discovery, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) does it again! Andy Serkis is the most well known of the new generation of actors we don’t recognize because of they’re full covered in makeup or computer graphic effects. But, Jones is certainly up there with him in talent.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI – A mother’s frustration over a perceived lack of effort to find the killer of her daughter causes her to use three large billboards to publicly shame the town sheriff.

Writer Martin McDonagh penned a tight script, which revolved around the transformation of the two main characters, and in this circumstance wrote it with the lead actors in mind; a fact that explains why their performances fit like a glove.

Frances McDormand (Fargo, Moonrise Kingdom) showed us the pain of a mother losing a child in a most horrific way, and what lengths a person would go to have their frustrations heard.

Equally as pleasurable to watch was Sam Rockwell in what could be argued is his biggest role to date. It’s a shame both he and Woody Harrelson were nominated for Best Supporting Actor for their roles in Three Billboards because Rockwell’s character was more important to the plot. Harrelson was OK. But, his sheriff didn’t have nearly the screen time that Rockwell’s character did.

* * *

So what would have been my choice for Best Picture?

Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri

Granted it was a pretty gritty film. But, it was a well thought out journey for the main characters, with an ending that felt just right. While it might’ve leave some people wanting a sequel, I hope there isn’t one. It isn’t necessary. 

Previous entries:
And the Oscar Goes to… (2013 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2014 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2015 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2016 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2017 edition)

Top 5 Series from the Sylvester McCoy Years

After the dust settled from all the backroom infighting, Doctor Who survived for another season. The only casualty being Colin Baker was out and Sylvester McCoy was in as the Seventh Doctor.

McCoy was older, and reminds me more of a cross between the quirkiness of Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor, the flamboyance of Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor, and the darker moods of Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor.

There certainly was a dark undertone to the Doctor in most of the scripts during the McCoy era. This might be a byproduct of using so many writers who had never written for Doctor Who before. Additionally, there was a new Script Editor.

It’s a shame that the show ended when it did. Special Effects were pretty minimal at best, and looked pretty bad compared to other shows of its time; Star Wars being a perfect example. A large part was due to the shoe-string budget producers were stuck with.

Something changed with Season 26 because things didn’t look as dated. A perfect example were when the Daleks shot people. I had to double check whether I was watching a special DVD with new effects, or not. They looked crisp.

* * *

1 – REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS - The best Dalek themed series in quite some time. The pace kept me interested pretty much from beginning to end. Not nearly the campiness in some of the earlier McCoy series. Neat Easter eggs if you know much of the series history and pay attention to it.

2 – BATTLEFIELD - King Arthur in present day! Been done before in TV. But, the twist being they’re aliens. Worked very well to keep me entertained. Just the right length for what they had. When Ace pulled the sword I wondered where they were going with it.

3 – TIME AND THE RANI - So much better than the very first “Rani” program. According to the DVD extras, the authors wrote this series for Colin Baker, which makes me wonder what had to be cut to make room for the regeneration skit. The wardrobe part of the regeneration seemed dumb. With Tom Baker it worked. With Sylvester McCoy it seemed just like a copy of the first.

4 – PARADISE TOWERS - Too much campiness with this one. The cleaners are dressed in uniforms that resemble Nazis, and the head guy looked like he had a Hitler mustache in Episode 1, which becomes a full mustache by the end of the series. Plot isn’t too bad. Wonder if New Who’s “Beast Below” drew upon this for inspiration. Sure wouldn’t mind seeing having the Doctor visit this place again to see how things changes, especially with the 13th Doctor being a female now. A bit of a Road Warrior vibe to it.

5 – SURVIVAL - Pretty simple mystery plot, morphing into a story of survival (hence the title). Sure wish we’d visited the cheetah people on a different circumstance. I think they’d be kind of cool to get to know, especially if it had been the Fourth Doctor. The Master skates through yet again. Wish they’d come up with a way to leave him dead. An OK way for the series to go out (though they might not have known about it at that time). Not great. But, not horrendously bad either.

6 - Delta and the Bannerman
7 - The Happiness Patrol
8 - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
9 - Silver Nemesis
10 - Dragonfire
11 - The Curse of Fenric
12 - Ghost Light

* * *

And so this ends my end-to-end run through of all episodes of Classic Doctor Who. It took three months, and that was pretty much most of what I actually watched.

There were many enjoyable episodes. But, it was clear that the longer the show ran, the longer in the tooth it started becoming. I suppose that’s to be expected. How many different plot lines could there actually be? Additionally, the BBC saddled them with a meager budget, which didn’t match pace with other science fiction shows of the time.

The final series DVD, Survival, briefly mentioned some plans for Season 27, which were intriguing. (Ace going off to Gallifrey to be trained as a Time Lord). But, had the show continued, it’s quite possible it might have died a few more episodes down the line, and prevented the relaunch of the series with Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor.

* * *

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention 1996’s The Doctor Who Movie. But, I have issues with it, and am glad it never made it to series form.

After a few attempts to entice the BBC into restarting the series, the American Fox Broadcasting Network approached them about possibly restarting the series for American television. This idea was rolled back to a 90 minute movie which would serve as a pilot to judge interest.

So much was changed when compared to the original series. Kudos to them for bringing back Sylvester McCoy for a regeneration sequence. But, it had such a violent ending to the Seventh Doctor, albeit typical of American television.

We were introduced to Paul McGann, as the Eighth Doctor. His portrayal, for the most part, made me think of past Doctors, and I see myself easily getting used to him. But, I wish they hadn’t introduced the whole love interest aspect (two things American television is good for, sex and violence). Judging from the ending, Had the movie spawned an American television series, he would have apparently had a difference companion, which means they wasted the time sexualizing a character who had been pretty asexual for over 30 years.

Taking nothing away from Eccleston, I really wish McGann had had the opportunity to return to his role when the BBC restarted the series. He would have still been young enough. At the very least, I would have liked to have seen a regeneration sequence, though I can imagine Russell T. Davies decided that it would have confused most viewers who had never seen Classic Who.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around The Master being some kind of snake creature that takes over bodies, more like the Mara in Kinda and Snakedance, than another Time Lord. Eric Roberts played the human character well. But, it was strange.

the movie felt too American, if that makes any sense. There was a flavor to Classic Who, which was British, and it goes beyond the accents and locations to make up that flavor. It just didn’t feel right.

Top 5 Series from the Colin Baker Years

Colin Baker holds the distinction of being the first person to play a character in a Doctor Who episode, and then eventually take on the lead role. (Peter Capaldi did the same when he appeared in the Fires of Pompeii and later became the 12th Doctor).

When we’re first introduced to him the confused Doctor is not nearly as bad as with Davison, and we’re hoping things are getting better. Sadly, we are introduced to the mean side of the Doctor as we’d never seen before, when he attacks his companion, Peri, accusing her of being a spy. He even goes as far as grabbing her by the throat and throwing her around.

This didn’t sit well with me, and apparently not with the audience when it aired back in the mid-1980s, garnering complaints from parents and watchdog groups.

Matching this chaotic nature of the Doctor was his choice of outfit. The cricket sweater was discarded for an eclectically colored jacket, which even the companion joked about it resembling a “coat of many colors” like the Holy Bible’s Joseph had.

Not to be outdone, Peri, his first companion dawned a tight pink number, which could’ve just as easily been spray painted on, and must’ve cause some consternation for parents being that the show was moved back to the Saturday afternoon time slot it enjoyed during the first four Doctors.

Two things to note when judging the Colin Baker era. There was a concerted effort to cancel Doctor Who by the new BBC Drama chair Michael Grade. After much fan hatred, they backed off, and brought back after an 18 month hiatus. This lopped off a whole year’s worth of Doctor Who series, and is the main reason why Colin Baker’s run is only 11 series long.

Secondly, is the underlying behind the scenes disagreements that the DVD extras talk about. Producer John Nathan-Turner had a preference not to bring back veteran series writers for whatever reason.

This came to a head during The Two Doctors and The Ultimate Foe. Robert Holmes, considered by many as the best Doctor Who writer of the time.

During writing The Ultimate Foe, Holmes was unable to complete the two episode series, and so script editor Eric Seward wrote one of them. But, disagreements with Nathan-Turner caused him to pull out of the project, leaving the production in a bind.

The married writing team of Pip and Jane Baker were called in, given pretty much nothing from the first script, and then commissioned to write the final episode with three days time.

* * *

1 – TIMELASH - Pretty good. Pretty obvious from the beginning who the bad guys are, and it keeps the interest all the way till the end. Good resolution, and I love the twist at the end.

2 – VENGEANCE OF VAROS - Apparently this one was controversial due to all the violence that’s running pretty much beginning to end. But, it is an important part of the plot. Sil is a bizarre character. I liked him at first. But, the more I heard his gurgling voice throughout the show, the more annoying it became. Very glad this was only two episodes (albeit the new 45 minute versions).

3 – TERROR OF THE VERVOIDS - This was the best of the “Trial of the Time Lord” series. It harkened back to the better Doctor Who series, and could’ve stood on its own without the ‘Trial’ wrapper. The Vervoid costumes weren’t that particularly bad. The new companion with no backstory was pretty jarring.

4 – REVELATION OF THE DALEKS - This was kind of a fun one. The DJ guy was the best character in the show. The new Davros was a bit trippy though. Surprised Doctor Who made a whole series wrapped around the subject of death, though it didn’t stay maudlin all the time, which helped.

5 – MIND WARP - Tough one to watch. Sil is back. But, his unique laugh is grating on the nerves this time around. Some second tier characters which appear and then just disappear. Knowing Peri was going to die before seeing this series made me sad as she was one of the more fun companions to watch, though they apparently changed the very ending after some pressure, and both her and the King’s characters didn’t really die. I love Brian Blessed’s character. Another larger than life portrayal. But, why’d he have to yell so much?

6 - The Two Doctors
7 - Attack of the Cybermen
8 - The Mysterious Planet
9 - The Twin Dilemma
10 - The Mark of the Rani
11 - The Ultimate Foe

Top 5 Series from the Peter Davison Years

Getting used to Peter Davison after spending a month watching Tom Baker was really hard.

It was interesting that the idea of the bumbling discombobulated Doctor really came into play with Davison. Yes, there was a bit with Tom Baker. However, it was nothing compared to what the viewer went through at the beginning of Castrovalva.

Over Davison’s run the Doctor never seemed to click like he did during Tom Baker’s term. The Tardis seemed to be constantly breaking down, or simply going where it wanted to.

It was also during this time, that companions seemed to grow on trees, having three of them at a time being commonplace. Unfortunately, having so many people share the spotlight with the Doctor just watered down things. Plus, none of the companion characters seemed to be as well developed as Tom Baker’s Sarah Jane Smith.

But, beyond that, they introduced Turlough, who I think had to be one of the worst companions ever. The whole premise that we was supposed to be killing the Doctor is reminiscent of The Master, only with a yellow streak which had him running away from danger every time anything went wrong.

* * *

1 – CAVES OF ANDROZANI - Tightly written. Has a lot of qualities of the Phantom of the Opera, including Jax’s mask. Everything looked good except the scene where the Doctor is retrieving the spider venom. That was pretty hokey. Davison had nowhere near the run that his four predecessors did, and I think it says something that his final show was what many consider his best.

2 – THE FIVE DOCTORS - Much better than the first “reunion” show though it was disappointing that Tom Baker wasn’t really in it, only using unaired footage from Shada. The stand-in for William Hartnell as amazing. Too bad that Jamie only had a cameo part due to contract conflicts. Wish it was another half hour in there, and they’d delved more into the tomb of Rassilon.

3 – FOUR TO DOOMSDAY - Such a rich story from nearly the very beginning. Sets were great. No real “monsters” per se so makes it easier to enjoy without the hokey makeup. One of the better ones in a long time from beginning to end.

4 – CASTROVALVA - Very nice start to the new Doctor. The script wanders for quite some time. But, it keeps busy. Very pretty looking. Constant music bed in the background is definitely different that what was done before.

5 – PLANET OF FIRE - Finally wrapped up Turlough, even though he was weak in this show too. Good backstory that was rolled into the plot line. Sure looked like the Master was finished off, though we all know he’ll eventually come back.

6 - Black Orchid
7 - Snakedance
8 - Enlightenment
9 - Warriors of the Deep
10 - Kinda
11 - The King’s Daemons
12 - Frontios
13 - Mawdryn Undead
14 - Terminus
15 - Resurrection of the Daleks
16 - The Visitation
17 - Arc of Infinity
18 - Earthshock
19 - The Awakening
20 - Time-Flight

Top 5 Series from the Tom Baker Years

Tom Baker was probably the very first Doctor I was exposed to thanks to KQED, in San Francisco. I can vaguely remember watching the show. I think it was on Saturday afternoons on the local PBS channel, KQED.

With his flowing multi-colored scarf and oversized floppy hat, Baker took the character to flamboyant levels high above that of the dapper Pertwee. It was the 1970s, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise.

Each week enriched the character of the Doctor, keeping even the most ardent fan interested.

Sadly, midway through the Tom Baker era, the Doctor seemed to be a little tired at times. Gone were his trademark outfit, and even his delivery seemed to be not as crisp. (Yes, he had a scarf. But, it was nearly the same color as his new jacket, so wasn’t as noticeable).

* * *

This Doctor took quite a while to go through as he was the longest running of any of the actors to play the role. In all Tom Baker appeared in 172 episodes. To keep that in perspective for NuWho fans, David Tennant only had 47 episodes. The Top 10 were really hard to finalize. I ranked things as I went along, and then when it came time to publish this list a few of them were shifted up or down depending on what I remembered.

1 – SEEDS OF DOOM - Very tightly written and keeps the interest from beginning to end. Almost wish this was a six part series. Effects were great, which helped carry things along.

2 – GENESIS OF THE DALEKS - Love/hate relationship with this one. The Kelads clearly are a symbol of the Nazis, which I get. But, the Thralls seem to be a representation of Israel and the IDF. Nice tight script by Terry Nation which explains how the Daleks came to existence. Now the episode where the Twelfth Doctor meets the young Davros makes a bit more sense.

3 – THE SUN MAKERS - I can see why this is Louise Jamison’s favorite series. Leela spends a lot of time on camera, including when not with the Doctor. K-9 is growing on me. Plot line keeps bouncing around so keeps the interest.

4 – THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA - Pretty well done historical piece with the sci-fi injected in. The first few minutes had me scratching my head, especially when they ended back in the 1500s. But, the it was blended well, with no over acting on anybody’s part.

5 – ROBOT - So far this is the best first episode for any of the first four Doctors. Despite being hokey at times, it keeps the interest. Probably helped having former script editor Terrence Dicks write the story.

6 - Planet of Evil
7 - The Talons of Weng-Chiang
8 - The Brain of Morbius
9 - The Ribos Operation
10 - The Androids of Tara
11 - The Horns of Nimon
12 - State of Decay
13 - Horror of Fang Rock
14 - The Robots of Death
15 - The Face of Evil
16 - The Hand of Fear
17 - Warriors’ Gate
18 - Logopolis
19 - City of Death
20 - The Keeper of Traken
21 - Terror of the Zygons
22 - The Pirate Planet
23 - The Stones of Blood
24 - The Power of Kroll
25 - The Destiny of the Daleks
26 - The Invasion of Time
27 - The Armageddon Factor
28 - The Ark in Space
29 - The Invisible Enemy
30 - The Deadly Assassin
31 - Underworld
32 - Shada
33 - Pyramids of Mars
34 - Creature from the Pit
35 - Full Circle
36 - The Android Invasion
37 - Image of the Fehndahl
38 - Meglos
39 - Nightmare of Eden
40 - Revenge of the Cybermen
41 - The Sontaran Experiment
42 - The Leisure Hive

Top 5 Series from the Jon Pertwee Years

With Patrick Troughton deciding to not renew his contract as the Doctor, several changes were made.

Jon Pertwee assumed the role, becoming the third Doctor. Where Troughton was short, dark hair and frumpily dressed most of the time, Pertwee was taller, dressed like a dandy with a grey bouffant hairdo. The two couldn’t look any further apart.

It was also decided to return the Second Doctor’s two assistants to the place in their lives where they first met the Doctor, effectively wiping their memories of any adventures they’d had with him.

Besides the clean slate of actors, another major change was the switch to color. The previous six seasons had been filmed in black and white, which made the 1960s seem so much longer ago than the rest of Classic Doctor Who.

With all the monsters and exotic sites in glorious color, it was sure to be a feast for the eye. Unfortunately, due to BBC belt tightening, it was decided to have the Doctor banished to Earth. Rather than the Doctor going to the monsters, the monsters would have to come to him.

While they did loosen up on that requirement a bit, the Pertwee Years definitely do not have the variety of sets of any of the other Doctors.

I was a bit disappointed that his first companion, Liz, was only around for a few series. But, their writing her off was providential because the actor turned out to be pregnant and would have had to leave anyways. Whereas Liz was a brilliant scientist in her own right, Jo Grant was ditzy, and got on the Doctor’s nerves immediately. However, by the time she left the series, she’d matured quite a bit.

* * *

Unlike the Swiss Cheese availability of the previous two Doctors, all episodes are accounted for from the Pertwee Years. If DVDs are not available, they can be viewed on the Britbox streaming service.

1 – THE TIME WARRIOR - A really simple script, and a great mashup of historical and science fiction genres. The first appearance of the Sontarans, and not overdone. Almost wish it had another episode just to give us more information on the Sontarans.

2 – PLANET OF THE DALEKS - A good game of Cat and Mouse from beginning till end. At first I thought it was the same planet as in Mission to the Unknown. But, it’s not. Looked like Jo was a goner.

3 – THE DÆMONS - This would be a good one to watch on Halloween. Very unusual compared to most Doctor Who series that were done back then. The Master looked particularly creepy when dressed in the robes. Azal looked a bit on the fake side. But, that was more than made up for by Bok, his little silver colored henchmen! One of my favorite extra characters in the whole series!

4 – THE SEA DEVILS - Another episode which seemed pretty unique. Loved the fortress location, and the Sea Devil creatures. Seemed rather pirate-like. The connection with the Silurians is still not believable for me. But, I can get past that one. One of the better scenes is where they’re emerging from the sea, in a chain mail type outfit. The whispery voice was funny.

5 – THE CURSE OF PELADON - Loved some things in this series. Hated other things. The Ice Warriors reminded me of Marvin the Martian from Disney cartoons, and were really dumbed down. Didn’t seem right compared to previous treatments of them. While Alpha Centuri looks just as comical, it was fresh with no backstory. Kudos to David Troughton. He played the conflicted Peladon nicely. I think my favorite part of the series was the Doctor’s hypnotic song when encountering Aggedor.

6 - The Monster of Peladon
7 – Doctor Who and the Silurians
8 – Invasion of the Dinosaurs   
9 - Colony in Space
10 - Planet of the Spiders
11 - Terror of the Autons
12 - Carnival of Monsters
13 - The Green Death
14 - The Mutants
15 - Inferno
16 - Death to the Daleks
17 - Frontier in Space
18 - The Three Doctors
19 - The Time Monster
20 - The Claws of Axos
21 - Day of the Daleks
22 - The Mind of Evil
23 - Spearheads from Space
24 - The Ambassadors of Death

Top 5 Series from the Patrick Troughton Years

In 1966, due to William Hartnell’s failing health, a change was made in who played the Doctor.

There was concern with recasting such an iconic character, and so producers came up with the unique idea that Time Lords regenerate at the point where their bodies are weak and cannot continue, rather than dying off.

Replacing Hartnell was Patrick Troughton. The final episode sees Hartnell falling to the ground, with his face awash in a white glow as it slowly morphs to that of Troughton in an extreme close-up.

Unfortunately, video of this regeneration is lost, and only snippets of it exist.

* * *

As bad as Hartnell’s missing series count was, Troughton is even worst, with a huge portion missing.

Once again I’ve had to rely on recons heavily to be able to view all of Troughton’s series.  Below of the Top Five series, followed by a numerical listings of the remaining series.

Unlike the Hartnell Years, there was no bottom group which stood out are particularly bad. The War Games is a good example. It’s looked upon as one of the iconic series of classical Doctor Who. I ranked it as low as it is on a good part that it was way too long in my eyes compared to most series (it bulges out to 10 episodes!).

1 – THE MOONBASE – The Cybermen are back after their home world of Mondas had been destroyed in the previous season. By this time Jamie, the Scotsman from the 1700s is still getting us to the idea of traveling through time. It’s funny to see his reactions during this trip to the Moon. Like a kid in a candy store he goes bounding about, and ends up knocking himself silly. His first meeting with the Cybermen is comical as he rationalizes that they are the “Phantom Piper” a legend from his own place and time.

2 – THE POWER OF THE DALEKS – At the beginning we can tell there’s something big coming up. But, we’re not quite sure what. Then they make their appearance! Despite the humans acting like they have the situation firmly under control, you just knew it was going to go bad for them, with the Doctor having to bail them out. The pace of this Dalek series was much better than the previous attempts. Its such as shame the original recordings have been lost and we’ve had to rely on animations and reconstructions to watch this series.

3 – THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN – Another one of those rather unique looking episodes, being set in a Tibetan monastery. The Yeti were not the main bad guys. But, rather filled the henchmen role, and looked nothing like the real Yeti is supposed to be like. The big balls of fur with chicken feet and not real face gave them a comical appearance as they slowly lumbered towards their targets.

4 – THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN – A flavor of a dig in Ancient Egypt with the sterile environment of a laboratory. When the actual actors come wriggling out of their individual sarcophagus it sends a shiver down the spine. The one thing I didn’t like was the costume change of the Cybermen. The leader looked like a rigger with a hardhat.

5 – THE ICE WARRIORS – Our introduction to those formidable reptilian Martians who seemed so invincible. The fact the Earth society is so advanced, yet can’t seem to fight off the attack from the Teutonic looking Ice Warriors is what does it for me.

6 - The Underwater Menace
7 - The Web of Fear
8 - The Wheel in Space
9 - The Enemy of the World
10 - The Mind Robber
11 - Fury from the Deep
12 - The Seeds of Death
13 - The Krotons
14 - The Space Pirates
15 - The War Games
16 - The Evil of the Daleks
17 - The Invasion
18 - The Faceless Ones
19 - The Macra Terror
20 - The Dominators
21 - The Highlanders

Top 5 Series from the William Hartnell Years

After the July’s season finale with Peter Capaldi, I came to realize it’s going to be a long time before this year’s Christmas Special, and then a lot longer until Jodie Whittaker’s debut as the 13th Doctor, sometime in the Fall of 2018. What would I do?

To ease the withdrawals, I decided to visit the classic Doctor Who seasons, broadcast between 1963 and 1989. (Doctor Who episodes since 2005 are nicknamed NuWho to differentiate them from the original shows).

When I was growing up the local Public Broadcast System stations had carried the early Doctors, and I can vaguely remember watching some of them on Saturday afternoons with my father. But, I couldn’t tell you which ones we’d watched. They were most likely from the time of the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker.

Besides that, I’d only seen a handful of episodes when I rented some DVDs from the local library a few years ago, so there was a vast amount of Classic Who waiting to be discovered.

As luck would have it, the Alameda County Library System has a huge collection of Doctor Who DVDs available.

On July 8th I took up the task to watch every Classic Doctor Who episode in order, from the pilot (An Unearthly Child) to Survival, when Doctor began what is known as “The Wilderness” by Doctor Who fans. At that point, the show went on a long 16 year hiatus, with only the American-based Doctor Who Movie (1996) to quench the thirsts of fans.

*  *  *

On November 23, 1963 an event happened which would effect the world in years to come. The British Broadcasting Corporation premiered a brand new Saturday afternoon television program, Doctor Who. Cast as the lead role was veteran actor William Hartnell.

Ratings much lower than hoped for, along with a more famous event from that date, nearly scuttled the program as quickly as it began. Fortunately for us, BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman, had faith and didn’t cancel the show.

Originally, they had figured the show would run for only a few weeks. An addition to the Saturday children's programming time. they had no idea it would become the hit that it would, and so many people would be talking about the show nearly sixty years later!

* * *

Here are my Top Five series from the William Hartnell era. To rank them I watched all available DVDs for those seasons which are still fully intact, along with fan reconstructions posted to the internet.

Unfortunately, the price of video tape was at a premium during the early years of Doctor Who, and the BBC management had a general feeling that once a show was broadcast, it would not be rebroadcast. As a result many first and second Doctor episodes were wiped for reuse in taping other programs.

Thanks to diehard Doctor Who fans who audio taped the sound, along with taking photographs off their TV screens, we have Recons, where the missing episodes were reconstructed to reflect what the show looked like. The recons made by Loose Canon Productions, are considered some of the best efforts out there.

My rankings are generally based upon story-line, and not production qualities.

1 -  THE WEB PLANET – Probably not a Number One choice for many people. For me, the relationships between the regular cast and alien creatures works very well. It has a Magnificent Seven feeling to it.

2 – MARCO POLO – It’s really sad this is one of the series where the original episodes have been completely lost. The Recons give the richness of this series, and color production photos that exist portray all the glory of the sets, with their color and details.

3 – THE TENTH PLANET – Our introduction to the Cybermen, who might be my favorite of the major reoccurring bad buys. It’s entirely possible this one shows up as high as it does because of the recent reappearance of the Mondasian Cybermen in NuWho, with their heads looking more like something out of a surgical theater than a steel machine. The voices are creepier than the mechanical ones as well.

4 – THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER – The Doctor and companions are in peril from a powerful enemy, who tantalizes them with the possibility of escape simply by solving some riddles or games. The unique part about this one is that the Companions take up most of the screen time, rather than the Doctor due to Hartnell being on vacation at the time of shooting.

5 – THE GUNFIGHTERS – I’m pretty sure there are plenty of people scratching their heads over this one, or saying I’m crazy. At first the ballad, which seemed to play every few minutes drove me up the wall. But, after a while it it grew on me. This episode is tight from beginning to end, and very unique compared to most historical Doctor Who series.

The remaining Hartnell Years series are listed below. It should be said that a good chunk of them are very close in ranking, and could easily have jumped places for very little reasoning. The bottom seven were definitely disappointments to me, and probably won’t be watched again unless there was a specific reason.

6 – The Daleks
7 – The Myth Makers
8 - The Aztecs
9 - The Savages
10 - The Reign of Terror
11 - The Time Meddler
12 - The Romans
13 - The Rescue
14 - The Crusade
15 - The Ark
16 - The Daleks’ Master Plan
17 - The Smugglers
18 - The Sensorites
19 - The Dalek Invasion of Earth
20 - The Chase
21 - The War Machines
22 - An Unearthly Child
23 - Galaxy 4
24 - Planet of Giants
25 - The Space Museum
26 - The Keys of Marinus
27 - The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
28 - The Edge of Destruction
29 - Mission to the Unknown

And the Oscar goes to… (2017 edition)

Here we are again. The annual blog entry with my thoughts on the Best Picture nominations at this year’s Academy Awards!

Please note that, with the exception of seeing Arrival in the theater, I watched all the films on either DVD or streaming as they became available so reviews were written over several months.

Comments are based on personal preferences, and don't take into account popularity at the box office.

So without further ado here are my thoughts on this year's Best Picture Nominations for the 2017 Academy Awards presentation.

ARRIVAL – Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is an eminent linguistics professor, who has been called upon in the past by the United States government. After classes are interrupted by the arrival of several ships from outer space, her life is turned upside down as she’s hired to try and communicate with the aliens.

Unlike many first contact type films, we are introduced to the aliens almost immediately, and a majority of the film deals with Banks and the other scientists trying to establish communications.

The big problem I had with this film was that is seemed physically muted and dark throughout. Apparently this was done intentionally. But, it made the film hard to  watch, especially the darkness even in scenes that would have been brightly lit otherwise.

The ending was rushed and unsatisfactory. It was as if they were going along then someone said they needed to wrap it up immediately. I was left with several burning questions that weren’t answered.

FENCES – Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) has a life where it seems everything is coming at home, and is in constant turmoil. He tries to get other people to see it his way by trying to explain it away.

Fences is a straight adaptation of the August Wilson play. Wilson also wrote the screenplay. Wilson’s screenplay is very rich, capturing every nuance from the play.

But, herein lies a problem. Most of what is seen on the screen are long scenes of dialog as one would see when going to a play. There were only a handful of times when there’s silence, allowing the viewer’s eye to soak in the situation.

Another issue is the camera seems to always be in motion. Even close-ups have an ever so slight movement which is noticeable and distracting once you notice it, and it’s not the case of it necessarily being handheld. It’s something along the lines of what Ken Burns introduced with The Civil War.

The ensemble cast was the best part of this film. Washington decided to reassemble the same cast who performed the play so many times on Broadway. They, along with newcomer Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers), brought performances that fit like a glove.

HACKSAW RIDGE – Like most American males, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) wanted to due his duty, and signed up for the US Army. The issue for Doss was that his religion forbade his touching a gun and taking another life. Despite multiple challenges from his trainers he made it through Boot Camp and was assigned to the Pacific Theatre of War, and the Battle of Okinawa.

Garfield was a great choice for Doss, with his small stature and meek delivery. He was completely believable in the part.

I appreciated that the original screenplay concentrated on two parts; the challenges of Boot Camp, and then a two day period from Okinawa. Most war films want to come to a conclusion of the war. But, that would have watered down Doss’ amazing contributions, and the lives saved.

Special Effects were incredible, capturing the intense violence and gore of military combat. Bodies were ravaged with realistic intensity which might make some viewers queasy.

HELL OR HIGH WATER – Tanner and Toby Howard are a modern day cross between Bonnie & Clyde and Robin Hood. Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) is just a few days short of his retirement from the Texas Rangers, and would nothing more than to catch up with the unknown criminals before he has to turn in his badge.

The film starts out with a couple of robberies interspersed with some down time. Unfortunately, the down time is frequent, and quite slow.

Dialog between Ben Foster (Tanner) and Chris Pine (Tobey) is tight like you’d expect from a couple of brothers who took different paths in life. But, just didn’t make me sympathetic to what they were doing.

The stark New Mexico scenery is a great stand-in for west Texas, including the small towns. The brightness and clear blue sky exudes the feeling of a hot summer environment.

HIDDEN FIGURES – Three unassuming African American women battle stereo types and racial oppression to help send American astronauts into space.

When I first heard of this film, it looked cute, almost sappy like at times. But, I was pleasantly surprised.

The screenplay was based on the Margot Lee Shetterly non-fiction book of the same name, and it did a great job of creating an inspirational story, yet kept us balanced by not sugar-coating the terrible treatment of African-Americans by society of the time.

All three lead actresses (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe) did not overplay their characters, following the balance in the screenplay.

Another thing worth mentioning is the soundtrack, which helped punch up certain scenes, which would have been so bland without the well chosen songs.

I would have liked to have seen a little more about Mary Jackson’s night courses, and any challenges she faced. But, ultimately that might’ve bogged the film down, which was already over two hours in the theatrical version.

 LA LA LAND – Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) both have dreams to make it big. After running into each other several times in one day they fall madly in love. The question is will their relationship strengthen their dreams, or dash them?

Every so often musicals seem to pop up in Hollywood, and then they do, they’re the talk of the town. They’re unique and so easily stand out.
I wish I could say I jumped on the La La Train too. But, I can’t. The opening ensemble number was great, and I was looked forward to what was about to come. Unfortunately, there weren’t nearly as many musical numbers as I’d expected. Several times the background music comes up hinting at a musical number, only to move on to something else.

And while I understand the ending, it was way too long, yet predictable.

LION – Saroo goes looking for work with his older brother. After nodding off he awakes and goes searching for his brother, to no avail. He then checks for him on a train, which ends up taking him to Calcutta, which is over 900 miles from home.

Lion is basically divided into three parts. The first part follows Saroo’s wandering Indian streets in hopes of finding his mother and brother. The second part covers his coming to his adoptive homeland of Australia and the new life it brings, and then the third his search to find where he was from, and the family he left behind.

Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, The Newsroom, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) gave yet another strong performance. But, the thing that drew me the most was young Sonny Pawar, who plays the young Saroo in his very first role. You are drawn in as he screams his brother’s name in vain.

Filming in the streets of Kolkata, and other parts of India, brought a raw look to the film which stood out from the other Best Picture nominees.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA – After the tragic loss of his brother, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) has his life turned upside down when he’s named the guardian of his nephew Patrick.

Over the next two plus hours the viewer is thrown back and forth between the present day and flashbacks from past relationships with his brother and ex-wife (Michelle Williams), and that’s pretty much it.
Just when it seems like issues are going to be resolved, the film is over, leaving the viewer to wonder if things actually worked out.

Affleck does a great job capturing the somber Lee, who has been dealt with a world of hurt over the past decade, or so.

The other gem of a performance is Lucas Hedges, as Lee’s nephew. The teen angst of unexpectedly losing a parent, and the confusion it creates for the young man work well against Affleck’s somber role.

What puzzles me is the nomination of Williams for Best Supporting Actress. Most of the nominees had pretty small contributions to their films so perhaps it was just a lean year. But, Williams had at best two scenes that were longer than 60 seconds, and one of those was basically nothing more than swearing on camera.

MOONLIGHT – From a young age Chiron felt something different. He would sneak subtle glances of other boys his age, which brought him bullying from classmates as well as his mother.

The best way to describe this film is as several vignettes that are strung together that the viewer follows along with Chiron as he meanders through life.

The most standout of the cast was Mahershala Ali (Crossing Jordan, Treme, House of Cards) as Juan. It’s a shame he was gone no more than a third of the way through the film. I would love to have seen more of the relationship between him and Chiron. He could best be described as an anti-hero, who was doing what he thought best for the young boy, and was obviously pained when confronted by Chiron over his drug sales.

* * *

So what would have been my choice for Best Picture?

Lion

This was probably the toughest year since I’ve started doing a Best Picture review. Despite any flaws mentioned above, most of the films left me entertained.

It came down to Hacksaw Ridge, Hidden Figures and Lion. All three films kept me interested from beginning to end. But, the exotic location, and the magnetic innocence of the Sonny Pawar is what through the balance.

Previous entries:
And the Oscar Goes to… (2013 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2014 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2015 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2016 edition)

And the Oscar goes to… (2016 edition)

Here we are again. The annual blog entry with my thoughts on the Best Picture nominations at this year’s Academy Awards!

Please note that, with the exception of seeing The Revenant in the theater, I watched all the films on DVD as they became available so reviews were written over several months.

Comments are based on personal preferences, and don't take into account popularity at the box office.

So without further ado here are my thoughts on this year's Best Picture Nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards presentation.

THE BIG SHORT – in the first part of the 21st Century, a rogue investor named Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale) came up with a new idea to bet that the booming home mortgage would come crashing down. When things didn’t see to go as planned, a deeper analysis showed just how volatile the housing economy was, which eventually brought down some of world’s most prestigious financial institutions.

With it’s gritty language and occasional dialog where the characters talk directly to the viewer reminded me a lot of 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

A great ensemble cast transports me back to the ten years ago, when things were melting down. Particularly worth mentioning are Bale and Steve Carell, (Mark Baum).

At time, the language got to me. I realize it was part of probably part of the original novel and, no doubt, part of the high pressure investment banker environment. But, I got tired hearing it.

  BRIDGE OF SPIES – During the Cold War, the US thought they were untouchable. Butt, then Francis Gary Powers got shot down without taking himself with the plane. Luckily, they had a card up their sleeve with a Russian spy locked up. But, could publicly make a swap over something neither side acknowledged as happening?

Tom Hanks knocked out yet another  strong performance’'; this time as James B. Donovan. As a person with no political experience, he had to use his trial lawyer abilities to make things happen the way he wanted them to go. Hanks knew when to act like a fish out of water, while at other times a strong force driving the agenda.

For any history buff, this was a great film. It had the look and feel of the period it was set in. It did seem at times to be a bit slow, like a slowly boiling tea kettle.

   BROOKLYN –  In 1950s Ireland, a single girl, seeing no hope in her native homeland, is sponsored for emigration to America, where she flourishes in her new surroundings.

The movie is based upon the award winning 2009 novel of the same name, by Colm Tóibín.

Relative newcomer Saoirse Ronan gives a stellar performance as Ellis Lacey (pronounced A-lish). This was her first adult role, and she carried it off fantastically. Her seemingly always moody portrayal lasts throughout most of the film, where she’s challenged by those around her, thinking they know what’s best for her. But, there’s a believable glimmer of hope when things change for her.

Unfortunately, it had a relatively short running time, and left me wishing for more interaction with her family and the Americans who befriended her.

   MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – In a post-apocalyptic world rival bosses control the limited supplies. One person breaks ranks and tries to escape her bondage to find a better place. Along for the ride is Max, who was captured while wandering the wastelands.

Trying to capture lightning in a bottle twice, George Miller dusted off the Mad Max franchise. In the 31 years since Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was released there have been tremendous advances in movie making. Had they not have been, this film would’ve been simply an addition to the cult series.

What made this so popular was the virtual non-stop action filled with lots of explosions, extraordinary costumes and vehicles set in out of this world-looking environments, and a loud ear piercing sound track.

Deservedly so, it won most of the Oscar’s technical awards. But, any of the actors could’ve been replaced with others, and nobody wouldn’t been worse for wear. That’s saying a lot considering the main actors were Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.

Was this really Best Picture nomination worthy? No. While it was certainly entertaining, it was pretty much devoid of much of a plot, and was just a chase film from beginning to end.

   THE MARTIAN – A sudden storm during a manned mission to Mars sends the crew scrambling to escape before disaster happens. Unfortunately, during their departure one of them appears to have been killed.

The next morning astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) wakes up to find he is alone, with what’s left of their base camp in shambles. Through ingenuity he’s able to survive and even communicate with NASA, sending the organization into a race against time to rescue Watney before supplies run out.

The first trailers of this reminded me of a 1960s sci-fi flick, Robinson Crusoe on Mars and I expected most of it was going to be just Watney’s struggles. However, it had a fair balance of screen time from a good crop of supporting actors.

Jordan’s Wadi Rum, with it’s vast scenery and rust red sands, was a perfect stand-in for the Martian surface. 

  THE REVENANT – Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a frontiersman hired to guide a fur trapping expedition into the untamed wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. While guiding the group to a nearby fort, he is brutally savaged by a wild grizzly bear, and eventually left for dead by his the party.

This was a gorgeous film. There are plenty of shots which really didn’t do anything to add to the story; just art for art’s sake.

It’s probably not too far of a stretch to say this was DiCaprio’s most strenuous acting gig, and I’d probably say it might be his best role to date.

One thing that disappointed me was to come home and read about Glass, only to find out a good chunk of what was in the film was fabricated out of thin air. As long as that doesn’t bother anyone you should thoroughly enjoy this film.

I do have to warn everyone that if get sick at torture and mayhem, you might get really ill with the beginning where Glass is mauled by the bear. It may be the most graphic movie scene I’ve ever watched. The good news is that if you make it through the first half hour of the film, you’re probably going to make it through the rest.

   ROOM – An 11ft by 11ft room is the entire world for Ma (Brie Larson) and Jack (Jacob Tremblay) . While there’s a door and a skylight, those are windows to the World, a place they’re forbidden to go. Their only contact is Old Nick (Sean Bridges), the provider of everything they need.

This was Emma Donoghue’s first feature length script, and based upon her award-winning 2010 novel of the same name. I have a special place in my heart for screenplays which are penned by the author of the original work.

To be honest, I found this film slow. VERY SLOW! It took a good 20-30 minutes before we finally found out why they found themselves in this predicament. I expected it to pick up at that point. But, it really doesn’t. The latter of the film moves along just as slow.

Larson won this year’s Best Leading Actress Award. Her portrayal is fine for the role, and I haven’t seen the other nominees’ performances. But, it didn’t leave me dumbstruck. The real gem of this film was 9-yr-old Tremblay, who knew nothing of the real world. His innocence was believable, and I look forward to further things from him as he matures as an actor.

Rounding out the main cast were veterans William H. Macy and Joan Allen, as the parents. Great talent. But, anyone could have probably played these roles, and had just as much impact on the film.

The film wasn’t bad. But, was it really one of the best eight films from all of last year? Not so sure.

  SPOTLIGHT – In 2001 the Boston Globe’s special investigative unit, Spotlight, turns it’s attention on a sexual abuse case from several years prior. What first appears to surround one priest, eventually exploded into one of the most horrific scandals in American history, including the cover up to try and sweep it under the rug.

This is certainly one of the best films of the year, and can probably be said of the last decade. The richness and depth reminds me a lot of another investigative journalism movies, All the President’s Men.

It boils along slowly as the team uncovers fact after fact about the scandal, until they break things wide open in the blink of an eye.

A great ensemble cast, anchored by Mark Ruffalo (Mike Rezendes), kept me interested from beginning to end.

* * *

So what would have been my choice for Best Picture?

Spotlight

This was probably the easiest choice for me over the last four years since I started my post-Oscar reviews. Despite the creepy subject matter, it kept me interested from beginning to end without having some kind of flaw.

The only other film that did that was Mad Max: Fury Road. But, I just don’t consider that one Best Picture material because of the simplistic plot.

Previous entries:
And the Oscar Goes to… (2013 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2014 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2015 edition)

And the Oscar goes to… (2015 edition)

Here we are again. The annual blog entry with my thoughts on the Best Picture nominations at this year’s Academy Awards!

Please note that, with the exception of seeing The Imitation Game in the theater, I watched all the films on DVD as they became available through the Alameda County Library System, so reviews were written over several months.

Comments are based on personal preferences, and don't take into account popularity at the box office.

So without further ado here are my thoughts on this year's Best Picture Nominations for the 2015 Academy Awards presentation.

AMERICAN SNIPER – Chris Kyle, is arguably the most famous service man of our generation, and holds the unofficial sniper record for most kills in combat during his four tours of service in Iraq, as well as furthest successful shot.

Bradley Cooper (Nip/Tuck, Hangover series, Silver Linings Playbook) did an amazing job of Kyle as someone with ice water running through their veins (an important trait for a sniper)

Throughout the film, Kyle pretty much kept a cool demeanor no matter what he was doing, except for one brief incident after returning home, which was a pivotal point in the film.

Those who crave war action are richly rewarded, with it’s realistic combat scenes. Not quite to the constant level of Black Hawk Down. But, not a sleeper either. If anything I wish there had been more screen time dealt with Kyle’s life post-Iraq, especially his relationship with fellow veterans.

I applaud filmmaker Clint Eastwood for not actually showing Kyle’s murder at the very end; instead choosing to fade-to-black with words simply stating the fact on the screen. He then used silence during the closing credits, magnifying the solemn nature of that event.

What’s unfortunate is they chose not to mention the death of fellow veteran Chad LIttlefield during the same incident that claimed Kyle. While it doesn’t ruin the film, it absence wasn’t necessary, and it would have added all of 20 seconds to the film.

BIRDMAN – Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a veteran actor trying to break into Broadway with an original play, which he’s written, directs, and stars in. Unfortunately, it seems like he runs into roadblock after roadblock, including his biggest handicapped of the public knowing him best for playing a super hero named Birdman.

A varied stable of character actors (Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough) support Keaton in this endeavor. Unfortunately, none of the characters were likeable enough for me. Neither was Keaton’s character for that matter.

At times it was hard to figure what direction the film was taking, especially with the interjection of a gruff voice, which was supposed to be the Birdman character; first as a voice over, and then as a character on the screen.

I will give kudos to filmmaker Alejandro González Linarite (Babel, Biutiful), who decided to use a soundtrack made completely of a drum solo. The staccato injection of drum licks did add a grittiness to the film.

BOYHOOD – Boyhood follows the life of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), a young Texas boy, from youngster to his leaving for college, and the challenges he faces along the way.

While the plot may sound like an ordinary film, Boyhood is not. Filmmaker Richard Linklater (Fast Food Nation, School of Rock) came up with the idea of producing his film over twelve years, so that they could use the same young actors, rather than try and get several actors that may look similar.

While I applaud the outside the box thinking by Linklater, the movie was just so so. I felt like I was along for the ride, with no particular place to go.

Patricia Arquette (Olivia) certainly earned her Best Support Actress nomination, spending quite a bit of screen time setting up things to come.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL – There is no greater goal in life than to be the lobby boy at one of the many posh European hotels. At least, that’s the feeling of Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) and his mentor Mr. Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes).

We travel along with Mr. Gustave and young Zero as they go about their daily lives, trying to survive military intrigue and those that would conspire to steal the hotel for their very own.

Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom) has another hit on his hands. The pacing is just right to keep the viewer interested, with costume and set design which draws the viewer into the film.

He was also blessed with a huge ensemble cast of some of the best actors in Hollywood and Europe.

THE IMITATION GAME – One of the most important events, which led to the Allied victory in World War II, was the British breaking of the “unbreakable” Enigma Code.

The Imitation Game depicts the efforts of a select group of individuals, led by the quirky Alan Touring, and the eventual downfall of Touring, after he was eventually outed for homosexuality in the 1950s.

Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a solid performance as Touring, eliciting feelings both of annoyance and sympathy for the character.

Set and costume design really brought the viewer into the era; especially Christopher, the machine which spins, clacks and pops on its way to solving the unsolvable Nazi code.

SELMA – Selma takes place during one of the seminal moments in American Race relations, and surrounds the famous march between Selma and Montgomery; a fifty mile stretch across the state of Alabama. The film is wrapped in the horrific brutality, which took place at that time, and which led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

David Oyelowo’s portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. is absolutely stunning. He casts off his British accent, and captures King’s mannerisms to a tee. Yes, his voice is perhaps a tad higher in pitch than King, but, his cadence is spot on.

Unfortunately Oyelowo’s performance is somewhat diminished by the film’s pacing. It starts out with a literal bang. But, then slows to a glacial pace for nearly half the film, when the first march attempt takes place nearly 50 minutes in.

Tom Wilkinson (Shakespeare in Love, Batman Begins, The Kennedys) delivers a rather adversarial performance as LBJ, painting the 36th president as more interested in his legacy than what that legacy actually contained. At time I was like, “wow” while at others it was more like “Hmm?”

The portrayal of Gov. George Wallace (Tim Roth) seems to blow in the wind. Sometimes he’s the racist that history paints him, while at times there seems to be an underlying spark of the futility of it all.

Interestingly, the theme song by John Legend and Common is only used at the very end. While the rap lyrics would have been misplaced taking place though out, the strong sound might have breathed some sorely needed pep into other places.

 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING – Some world renowned scientists are not commonly know by people, and stay that way for their entire life. Not so for Stephen Hawking, whose theories have revolutionized the way people think of things.

This film could have done the typical thing and followed Hawkings accomplishments throughout his life. But, they decided to take a different path, which made it more compelling to me.

The Theory of Everything gives us a brief glimpse of Hawking’s life. But, mostly concentrates on the period from just prior to a simple slip and fall brought out a diagnoses of what came to be nicknamed Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

I particularly liked the way ToE concentrated on the human aspect of Hawking. Yes, they mention some of his theories. But, that was just a brief part of the film.

Eddie Redmayne gave a career-defining performance in the lead role. Playing famous people, especially living famous people, can be daunting. Throw in Hawking’s affliction, and it’s enough to challenge even the staunchest veteran actor.

WHIPLASH – Young Andrew (Miles Teller) has a dream in life. To be not just one of the best drummers, but the best drummer of all time. Standing in his way is instructor Terence Fletcher (played by fellow UM alumni T.K. Simmons. GO GRIZ!!) who seems to be part nurturer and part Marine Corp drill instructor, with little warning of which one is going to show up at any time.

Simmons may have only been the supporting actor. But, he stole the show. It’s a far distance from the Farmer’s Insurance guy, which many people, including Teller, only knew him as.

This one has a twisty-turny plotline that had me saying “WOAH!” several times. Just when I thought things were going one way, the film took me in a totally different direction.

There are a handful of slow times in the film, which just don’t stand up to the other 90%. Fortunately, the music is where it’s at, and you can’t help but watch the screen wondering what’s coming next.

* * *

So what would have been my choice for Best Picture?

The Grand Budapest Hotel

This year’s choice much harder than the last two times I made my choice for Best Picture. Three films really stood out, American Sniper, Whiplash and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The latter won out because of its amazing cast, pacing that constantly moved the story along, the surreal colors in costume and set design, as well as the “feel good” feeling it left me with once the film was over.

As a side note, I don’t normally mention films that were not nominated. But, I can’t write this without mentioning The Judge, with Robert Duvall and and Robert Downey, Jr. It could have beat out any of the other films nominated, included Birdman; which actually won the award.

Previous entries:
And the Oscar Goes to… (2013 edition)
And the Oscar Goes to… (2014 edition)