Jake Gittes

I've been in Farrell's corner since Minority Report and Phone Booth. RR isn't as likable but he still has his strengths he could be playing to.

Reynolds is kinda like Colin Farrell but Farrell has been doing better recently with smaller character roles in mainstream movies (like Saving Mr. Banks) and compelling lead roles in oddball arthouse movies (I saw The Lobster last week and he's great in it). Haven't seen him in True Detective but still it's a high-profile role even if the season was extremely divisive. RR could do worse than that once he finally realizes he isn't gonna be a star.

I remember when Lionsgate gave Buried a platform release in late September because, if I'm not mistaken, they thought it'd be a WOM hit like Paranormal Activity. Talk about a miscalculation. (Though I'm not sure if there was any way to sell it - had it opened wide it probably would have got an F cinemascore)

I really liked RR in Adventureland, Buried and The Voices, so I'd say he should just stick to those smaller films even if he earns about 10 bucks from doing them. He'll be more respected in the long run.

I believe that, like me, the people behind these robberies are extreme athletes.

Drive had a C cinemascore. And still managed a 3x multi.

Ladd Leigh Mara Vikander Winslet This is between JJL and Vikander I think.

Carol The Hateful Eight Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant Sicario Alt.: Son of Saul, Spectre, Bridge of Spies

This sounds simultaneously ridiculous and frightening coming from a police official. Like they want to set up an armed robbery of his house or something. Tell me there isn't an actual implied threat in that quote. Doesn't help that "Fraternal Order of Police" sounds like a freaky cult name.

It's the right thing to say, though, and I'm glad QT stuck to his words. It's the police that needs to stop being a bunch of fucking crybabies and dragging attention away from actual problems.

"When you get to Hell, tell 'em Daisy sent ya". It's good to have Jennifer Jason Leigh back.

The OCR-A font so that you know this shit is SERIOUS.

Miguel Ferrer is back. http://www.avclub.com/article/miguel-ferrer-return-twin-peaks-227936 "While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman".

Didn't expect how much this would be a remake of The Devil's Backbone, just in a different time period/setting and without a shadow of actual history looming over it. Like Pacific Rim, it feels like a guided tour of GDT's obsessions, but the scenery/costumes porn here appeals much more to me than the robots vs monsters porn in that film (seriously, in a just world this would have the Oscars for production design and costumes locked up), and Chastain is great, especially in the end. I had two substantial problems with this - first, the camera movement and editing are much too modern and dynamic for an old-fashioned gothic throwback, and the plot felt first-drafty and overstuffed as well. Second, as in The Devil's Backbone, there's the idea of ghosts as a metaphor for the past, which is all well and good, except GDT spends roughly the first half of each movie more or less pretending he's doing horror before revealing that the protagonists aren't gonna be harmed by ghosts and should actually be afraid of other humans. For me, in both movies, that transition is done awkwardly enough that it basically comes off as bait-and-switch.

He's excellent in this, though the character, like Ronan's, is basically written without any flaws. He also looks and sounds like James Franco's long-lost twin brother.

Ozymandias isn't giving out Oscars. The industry is.

Well I haven't seen Spotlight so I wouldn't know. But The Martian is basically very well-executed light entertainment. It doesn't have more ambition than that, doesn't really care about interesting themes, isn't in any way innovative visually, it isn't much of an acting or writing showcase, it doesn't resurrect a dead genre like Gladiator (whose win for Best Picture I'm actually pretty cool with). Which is all fine because the movie succeeds at what it wants to do. But I don't see anything award-worthy there. I'm surprised it's even supposed to be a serious contender for nominations. Even as far as entertainment goes, Mad Max already has it beat in every department. Star Wars might, too.

I'm not against light and life-affirming movies on principle, but this is a movie that spends just about every minute of its runtime patting both its main character and its viewers on the back. It doesn't earn the right to be inspiring because there's never any conflict that feels real and worth giving a damn about. You can do so much more with an immigration story, or with a choosing-between-two-lovers story, than this movie ever attempts to do, and still end up with a successful and crowd-pleasing awards contender. This is just pointless fluff.

I'd say Actress is assured (and IMO the only nom that won't be bullshit). Picture is definitely possible, Screenplay is a long shot considering the competition but I could see it. Maybe costumes and/or production design, but that's a huge maybe. So anywhere from 1 to 5 noms I guess.

My problem with it is that it's so ridiculously polished and sanitized. (From the start this is reflected in cinematography which makes every damn shot look like a postcard). Every step of the way it feels less like someone's real experience in a '50s America and more like their misguidedly nostalgic conception of what it would be like. Ronan is very good, but her character, despite being the lead, is one of the least interesting in the entire movie. Even while watching it, I could think of a dozen more interesting versions of this story in my head; the real thing is pretty much the safest and blandest I could imagine. I'd much rather rewatch The Immigrant instead.

I kinda couldn't stand this.

The Martian winning the big two would be a joke.

Is it me or Sony Classics always gives their platform movies these sudden wide expansions and seemingly forgets to tell anyone about it.