Mao

Updated Prize List:

1st Prize gets 4 titles from the list of Oscar Winners and Nominees below, 2nd Prize gets 3, 3rd Prize gets 1:


The Barbarian Invasions (Sealed DVD)
Hope And Glory (Sealed DVD)
Husbands And Wives (Sealed DVD)
The Lost Weekend (DVD)
The Madness Of King George (Sealed DVD)
Rebecca (Blu-Ray)
The Silence Of The Lambs (Blu-Ray)
Unforgiven (Sealed Blu-Ray)

popcorn

I have six more movies to watch to complete my checklist. My evenings are being occupied by re-watching the Best Picture nominees with my wife who hasn't seen most of them. Either way, I'm watching movies so it's all good.

Mao

Will meet my personal goal after tomorrow night (and assuming the show will go on Sunday).

Bummed that I'm one (1) feature film away from having seen every single film and short nominated this year....

If anyone stumbles onto "The Insult" (Foreign Language Film nominee) anywhere out there on the internet, let me know! We're in the home stretch!

davidh777

Do the LOTR extended editions count even though the theatricals got the nominations/awards? I assume so but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask (unless they were ruled ineligible--that would hurt ).

Mao

Great question!

Since I'm totally anal retentive (which got me into some hot water earlier in the challenge), I would say...sure, it's your call.

I'm a bit of a stickler about these kinds of things. Since those versions are not the version that what won the Oscar, I avoid them.

As a Best Picture collector, I imported the theatrical version of "Dances With Wolves" on Blu from the UK, because the only version on BLU in the US is the extended edition (which I still own, but....).

ntnon

Thanks for that.

I seem to recall several(?) years iTunes has run a shortlived deal on these, but this is the first year I've managed to get it in time.

Dear Basketball was interesting - and I couldn't decide if the famous names were a plus or negative. A short animation with music by John Williams! I enjoyed it - it felt like the right balance between 'worthy' and 'light'.

Negative Space was nicely odd and quirky. Frivolous, but quite heartfelt.

Garden Party was easily the most technically advanced, and looked good. But I didn't really care for it.

DeKalb Elementary seemed like a really good and interesting idea. And turned out to also be based on a true (and timely - though when is it not..?) story. So... yes. Excellent.

Silent Child was similarly worrying in its subject matter, and well put together with the acting/emotions on display. I hope it will help - though the call for ALL schools to be adept at sign language seems both a) overly optimistic and b) perhaps unreasonable/unnecessary...? [Note: I haven't actually looked up statistics, so it may be eminently reasonable.]

My Nephew Emmett was interesting. It felt more... message-y than film-y. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I'm glad I discovered iTunes had subtitles for Watu Wote... I was completely lost for a while. Well-filmed, also inspiringly real, but not a favourite.

The Eleven O'Clock was hilarious. Reminded me mildly of Monty Python's FC's 'Argument Clinic' and other clever skits. I hope it wins, in part because I feel all the others would have been better suited as documentary shorts given the subject matter. I understand the difference, but barely-fictionalised-reality is pretty close. (Particularly when many documentaries-proper get flak for bias and artistic restaging/editing.....)

ntnon

Lou I liked. Pixar/Disney have had some lesser efforts recently*, but this was a nice, morally, clever one.

Traffic Stop, I wish for others' opinions on, please. Anyone see it? What do you think?


*I was surprised the new Frozen short didn't get nominated. But very happy, because it was rubbish...

lisadoris

I would say that LOTR Extended Editions and other films with Director's Cuts certainly count. The original film is in there somewhere.

Traffic Stop was really difficult for me to watch. I was actually happy that the woman survived the encounter which is such a low hanging fruit way of looking at the situation. The usual MO when encounters with police go sideways is to trash the civilian so I appreciated the film for countering the standard narrative. The film felt a little disjointed at times and I have no way of knowing if that was intentional. I am curious to find out what happens if/when the case is adjudicated.

Indy24LA

I just have to say Coco was an amazing film.

popcorn

I agree, not just "for an animated movie" but overall. It was definitely in my top 3 of the year, with Get Out and Lady Bird. Just a heads up for Blu-ray heads: the 4K version is actually made from a 2K transfer, so one may argue that the Blu-ray is as good as the 4K. That's the direction I'm going to save a few bucks.

mrcellophane

I purchased the Best Buy exclusive steelbook. It's absolutely gorgeous packaging! It's my #4 of last year, behind The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, and Phantom Thread. I may be falling into that hyperbolic "the newest X is my favorite X" trap but Coco is probably Top 3 Pixar films for me.

davidh777

ntnon

Hm. Thank you.

The only review I could (easily) find is at CNN, which similarly says "Anyone watching with an open mind, however, would have to empathize with.. King."

Really..? I thought the usual response is for the Powers That Be to close ranks and support the police, and for everyone watching the news to condemn without reserve or facts.

My thoughts were very different - if more mixed than the following ramble-typing will likely seem..

Here, my interest is in whether other viewers saw what I did - viz. a documentary that is actually obtuse and paints both sides equally, siding with neither. From the two other responses (lisa, CNN), it appears that others see 'police brutality' and side with the victim. I very clearly saw a woman with a (legitimate, reinforced) chip on her shoulder a) arguing and disagreeing, b) resisting and baiting and c) complaining and confronting and d) drawing inaccurate and excerpted parallels.

Evidentally there are elements of entrenched racism within the police force (and equally obviously some of that is profiling, some learned, some observed, some bigotry). Evidentally there is a gap between what different people consider "reasonable" (force AND treatment AND compliance). But.... I appreciated that what I saw the way I saw it appeared to show both sides of the coin.

I don't think it showed wrong reactions - though contrarily it may have shown "excessive" ones - from the policeman.

I was curious that the driver was willing to voice... let's call it somewhat-poorly-phrased counterpoints to her accusations of racism. It loops back to a reminder that it is barely possible to have a conversation on these topics without it escalating into a barrage of blanket insults. Which is as depressing as anything.

Anyone else?

ntnon

It's also probably safe to assume that, had a studio allowed the time (running or editing or both) for the D.C. to have been released instead of the theatrical, any given film would still have been nominated for anything it was.

So the extended cuts are as award-worthy (and possibly moreso).

ntnon

I was rather underwhelmed at the cinema... maybe I should give it another go before the end of the weekend.

Mao

So was I!

Waiting to see it again in 3D when it arrives tomorrow...

lisadoris

Yeah that's part of what goes down but it's not the entire story. The MO seems to be (and the fact that this happens often enough for there to be an MO is sad to me). Encounter goes sideways, press conference is called where initial findings are presented. Social media divides into the two camps you mentioned. Police union head and conservative media will smear the victim (that train is NEVER late. The most egregious example, check out the early press surrounding the Tamir Rice shooting. The initial police narrative was that Rice did not comply with repeated commands to put down his "weapon." Then the narrative turned to bad parenting because why was he alone in the park.) If there's video, then it gets released which usually, but not always, contradicts what the police said in the initial press conference (in the case of Rice, there were no commands given because the cop started shooting before his car even stopped and we learn later that the 911 operator was told that Rice had a toy gun but she didn't give that info to the police. The McDonald case in Chicago is another example where the video contradicts everything the police said; that case actually went to trial because of that). It's usually at this point in the story that mainstream media rallies around the victim but then nothing happens. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I agree that the woman did have a chip on her shoulder but I also agree that the officer used excessive force. The confrontation seemed to escalate quickly and that's where my personal bias comes in. This was a traffic stop (as many of these cases are). It should not be the job of civilians to deescalate situations; this is what police officers should be trained to do. Literally, in Chicago, there's a new program that teaches elementary school students how to deescalate encounters with police. They're children, that's not their job.

In many, but not all cases, the officer escalates, and things get out of control from there (see Sandra Bland video). We've seen a few cases of white, mass shooters who are successfully taken into custody without any fuss (some even get food after their carnage - see Dylan Roof), but a black driver who asks, "why did you pull me over" ends up beat up or dead. There has to be a middle ground and I think the woman in this case tried to have a decent conversation when she was in the squad car with the other officer but at that point, the damage is done.

ntnon

True, but it should also be pure common sense that baiting, ignoring and (essentially) lying to the police should not be your primary approach.

Now, and I'm more guilty of this than anyone despite understanding it, but being a smartass tends not to go over well with ANYONE, let alone authority figures. Don't tell the airport security guy you have a bomb; don't tell the border patrol you have cocaine in your car; don't tell the policeman he can't pull you over if you've already stopped. It's obviously a more minor statement, but still...lead with an apology. Do as you are told. Argue and complain afterwards - because if you do as you're told there won't be any room for mistakes that make there not be an 'afterwards'.

That's sad. It's also basic trining for officers - that, clearly not all of them get. But that there even has to be a debate over whether you should comply with someone in authority does ppint to deeper problems - with everyone, on all sides. And possibly unanswerable questions.

I agree. I suspect that same conversation was where the driver was attempting (poorly) to put across reasons why these instances occur.

Statistics are problematic. Suggesting that bias/prejudice stems from observation or observation from prejudice becomes a difficulty of correlation/causation - evidentlly there are proportionately more arrests/deaths/etc. on some sides of the divide. Evidentally that does not equate to easy or glib answers. A poloce officer SHOULD bring their experience to bear, SHOULD follow 'innocent until proven guilty' guidelines, SHOULD try to make everything/one as calm as possible. But can they - and can they even be expected to - bring all of those lines to bear all the time? And additionally do that every time with split-second accuracy 100% of the time.

There may perhaps even be unreasonably high expectations at play, too. Doctors and law enforcement are expected to be 100% right 100% of the time. That is difficult. A more reasonable hope might be perpetually rational and perpetually able to justify their decisions and choices. But that allows for instances where the results might be bad, but for the right reasons... and that's problematic again.

Thought-provoking, at least!

lisadoris

What I want is to live in a country where being a smartass isn't a capital offense for one segment of the population. That subject of this doc survived with her life and is one of the lucky ones.

Giles

while there were hints as to the ending of 'Garden Party' the pay off scene I thought was a complete turn off.

'Dear Basketball' while technically well made - felt like a vanity project / ego trip for Bryant

'Negative Space' was all to brief to me.

DeKalb Elementary - didn't work at all for me - felt very TV-esque and amatuerish

Silent Child - was both poignant, and cinematically stylised - I hope it wins

My Nephew Emmett - felt like it was just a segment of a much longer movie - very good, but came across as lacking

Watu Wote - surprised me, it had a lot going for it, tension, great camera work, and emotional ending

The Eleven O'Clock - I could see where it was going, but it's strength was it's script and specifically it's dialogue

watched this on Amazon Prime --- interestingly, I'm not sure if this was the case on Itunes, but the package of shorts did not include 'Lou' and 'Revolting Rhymes' both of which are viewable separately on YouTube (and bluray/DVD) and Netflix respectably.

Indy24LA

Just watched next year's best picture winner, Black Panther

Happy Oscar night to all!!!!

Mao

Happy Oscar Night, everyone!

Since it looks like we're having a ceremony, my list is done.

Mission Accomplished!

Have a great night, enjoy the show, and finish up this challenge strong!

ntnon

Fair point.

For reference, I would be very curious if there were a way to test different people acting in the same way - men/women, black/white, different appearances, ages, etc.

Probably be more depressing than enlightening, but still.

ntnon

I certainly felt that, too. But it also seemed very heartfelt and honest. Less vanity, and more.. closure?

Neither were on iTunes. Disney/Pixar things (almost) never get packaged with the rest, and I assume RR isn't included because it's technically episode 1 of a TV show, and thus a separate entity.

ntnon

Finished with three great films.

Hell or High Water was entertaining, interesting and just all round well done. Trying to describe it in my head, I hit on a very inaccurate comparison - like Cockneys vs. Zombies without either cockneys or zombies...

Captain Fantastic was. It flagged a little in parts, and the ending was... omissive. (And possibly open to a variety of curious interpretations.) But what a great, thought-provoking essay on parenting, the world, responsibility and love. Without any answers, but a lot of deep questions.

And Fight Club. Also about society and "Right" and rights and how we behaveand whatnot. And, like CF surprisingly also quite a barrel of laughs along the way.