I saw Paddington 2 today! tis very sweet and also very, very fiercely a pro-immigration parable
Also, curiously, it is the second movie this year where Sally Hawkins shares an emotionally* charged underwater scene with a human-like but non-human character whose existence is a metaphor for something.
I went to see Battle of the Sexes today and I was pleasantly surprised, because I didn’t expect the film to mention Billie Jean King’s sexuality at all and yet… that was almost entirely what it was about? Plus it was a gorgeous film, I wanted to marry every damn frame
I went to see Their Finest today. I dunno if it’s even made it to America, but it’s a really good film about women’s contribution to British wartime cinema, if that sort of thing is your bag.
It is also notable for two other things! One, it has a chain-smoking men’s-clothes-wearing lesbian character (her sexuality isn’t involved in the plot but made very clear) who does not die despite the film being largely about death, and second (under a cut for spoilers)
the main male character dies to further the main female character’s development, which is a nice change of pace
I’m very proud of all the movies I made. I am very happy with everything I’ve done. I like to watch my movies. Some of them work. Some of them don’t. Some of them people like, most of them they don’t.
Ironically, winning Best Picture is probably the worst thing that could have happened to Spotlight, because you just know in a few decades’ time people are going to be like “What was Spotlight? Never heard of it. Why didn’t Mad Max win?”
Also I’m not sure Rachel McAdams really deserved Best Supporting Actress for this, she was fine but not really…prize-worthy?
It was good though, I’ll probably watch it again soon
Philomena
Another ‘the Catholic Church have some horrible hidden secrets’ movie. I think there’s quite a lot of them
Hi, Anna Maxwell Martin! I remember when you were playing small roles in Doctor Who. And hi, Wunmi Mosaku!
Steve Coogan is just playing Steve Coogan but that seems to work
I didn’t know it was based on a true story until afterwards and then I was sad
The Impossible
Actually way better than I was expecting
I definitely get the criticisms about ‘why, seeing as most of the victims were Thai, did the movie have to be about a white family’ though. Especially since that could easily have been avoided by having multiple storylines about multiple people, since the film has two different storylines anyway
Also, if I was part of the real-life family the film was based on, I’d be pretty pissed they changed my nationality from Spanish to American. Why is it always about America
Tom Holland! Or whatever his name is! New Spider-Man! He’s a really good actor, I’m feeling considerably more optimistic about the reboot these days
The make-up on this film was fantastic, I hope someone got an award for it
Also yeah Naomi Watts probably deserved that Oscar
White House Down
Paraphrased sample line from this movie: “It’s the President! And he’s got a ROCKET LAUNCHER!”
Probably the most gleefully stupid film I have seen in some time
London Has Fallen
Also stupid, but not as gleeful
The posters for this movie showed Big Ben blowing up. Big Ben does not blow up and comes out relatively unscathed
That being said I find London being destroyed on film a bit more…painful? then seeing places like Washington DC destroyed, because I live near London, so I was actually rather glad they didn’t spend too much time on that
This film was a lot more racist than I expected, especially considering it was directed by a Iranian man
I bet certain people were really delighted at that ‘go back to fuckheadistan’ line, sigh
Wait Gerard Butler you were in Gods Of Egypt too? You really need to start picking better projects man
American Honey Directed by: Andrea Arnold What it’s about: A wild teenager (played by newcomer Sasha Lane) who joins in with a group of similarly crazy kids who travel around the U.S. working for a multi level marketing scheme. This is also known for being the movie that Shia Labeouf cut his hand on. If the description isn’t enough to convince you then you should be convinced to watch it by Arnold’s talent alone. She’s an Oscar winning director who’s best known for Fish Tank and two of her previous films have played at Cannes. Crossing my fingers this one makes it there too. Release date: Undetermined as of yet but A24 says they’re dropping this in the fall (so maybe they have an Oscar push in mind?)
The Fits Directed by: Anna Rose Holmer What it’s about: An 11 year old tomboy named Toni who falls in with a dance troupe while she’s supposed to be boxing at the gym. But things start to go awry when the girls in the dance troupe succumb to violent fainting fits. The film already got rave review at Venice last year and is getting positive review at Sundance. Release date: Undetermined so far but indie distributor Oscillope bought it before its festival premiere so the good news is this will be hitting theatres in limited release in 2016. Follow @TheFitsFilm for updates.
The Invitation Directed by: Karyn Kusama What it’s about: A man attends a dinner party thrown by his ex-wife and her new husband and slowly suspects that they have sinister intentions towards him. The low-key thriller stars Tom Hardy look-alike Logan Marshall-Green along with Michiel Huisman and Emayatzy Corinealdi. It has a mostly white cast but Kusama remains one of the few Asian-American women to have a strong and continuous career as a film director. Release date: March 25, 2016
Equity Directed by: Meera Menon What it’s about: A female wall street trader played by Anna Gunn who is mired in a world of corruption, greed and scandal. Billed as the first wall street movie centered about a woman this has a predominantly (possibly entirely?) white cast however director Meera Menon is Indian-American. Release date: No official date yet but this was picked up by Sony Picture Classics before its official Sundance premiere.
Loving Directed by: Jeff Nichols What it’s about: Real life couple Mildred and Richard Loving who married when interracial marriage was still illegal in their state and became plaintiffs in Loving vs. Virgina, the court case that made interracial marriage legal within the whole of the U.S. Ruth Negga plays Mildred with Joel Edgerton as Richard. Release date: None yet, but this will probably head to festivals sometimes this year looking for a distributor.
Miles Ahead Directed by: Don Cheadle What it’s about: A passion project for Cheadle the movie examines the life of Miles Davis as he is interviewed by a Rolling Stone reporter, played by Ewan McGregor, in the 1970s. This one got mixed reviews when it played at festivals but by all acounts Cheadle’s performance is awards worthy. Release date: April 1, 2016
Moana Directed by: John Musker and Ron Clements What it’s about: Ayoung woman who sets off on an adventure helped by a famed demi-God. The nice thing about this one is that not only is it about polynesians but the main vocal cast (which includes Dwayne Johnson) also are of polynesian ancestry. Release date: November 23, 2016
The Queen of Katwe Directed by: Mira Nair What it’s about: A biopic based on Ugandan prodigy Phiona Mutesi who grew up in a slum and then turned her life around after her teacher taught her how to play chess. It’s also going to be Lupita Nyong’o’s first live-action role post-Oscar and also stars David Oyelowo. Release date: Undetermined but this is owned by Disney so it will likely get a wide release sometime this year.
Race Directed by: Stephen Hopkins What it’s about: A biopic on Olympian athlete Jesse Owens during his time at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Germany. Owens is played by relative newcomer Stephan James, and the rest of the cast includes William Hurt, Jeremy “I’m a sexist creep” Irons, and Carice van Houten. Release date: February 19, 2016
Songs My Brothers Taught Me Directed by: Chloe Zhao What it’s about: Set in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation the film, about a young girl who goes looking for a father figure after her father drinks himself to death and her older brother starts making plans to leave for a better life, played at Sundance in 2015. This got great reviews but it struggled to find distribution until director Zhao announced she would self-distribute in 2016. The even better news? Indie distributor Kino Lober stepped up to give it a proper release! Release date: March 2, 2016. Follow @songsthemovie for more info.
6 of these movies are directed by women btw and out of those 6, everything but American Honey and The Fits are directed by woc.
American Honey Equity The Fits The Invitation The Queen of Katwe Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Okay, people! As I suggested as part of the #fucktherazzies initiative, I plan on running alternative film awards this year. In a nutshell, the Sparklies will be awards dedicated to celebrating the films that fill our hearts with joy and make our souls that bit lighter. I would like to propose the following categories, and I explain the kind of factors you should be basing your picks on below:
1. Best Picture
In this context, ‘best’ means your favourites. So we’re talking about the films that fired your imagination, the films that delighted and inspired you. Your picks should be those movies that you could go back to over and over again without tiring of them. They should leave you wanting to return to them, and each new viewing should remind you why you came to love it in the first place.
2. Best Moment
This is the scene – or perhaps even the shot – you want to endlessly re-blog in gif form. The scene that leaves a lump in your throat, makes you cheer aloud or sends chills down your spine. It can be any kind of moment – it just needs to have left a serious impact, becoming a defining moment in the film that you always find yourself going back to.
3. Best Heroic Performance
This one’s pretty self-explanatory – nominate your favourite heroines and heroes. The actor should be able to sell you on their character and their heroism, making you buy into their journey and root for them to succeed.
4. Best Villainous Performance
It’s what it says on the tin! I want to see all of your favourites baddies nominated – they can be subtle and calculating, or hysterical and exaggerated. The type of performance doesn’t matter as long as the actor goes all in and commits. You should be nominating performances that delight and amuse as much as they inspire terror.
5. Best Double Act
‘Double act’ basically means any two characters sharing a significant amount of screentime and bouncing off each other in a delightful way. Double acts can be traditional romantic pairings, straight-up bromances or anything in between – they just need to have a fun relationship that you loved watching play out on screen.
6. Best Visuals
This is essentially a mash-up of the cinematography, VFX, costume design and production design categories. What we’re looking for here are beautiful films, films that take advantage of the vast canvas offered by the cinema screen to present exquisite and carefully constructed environments that transport us to other places, times and worlds.
n.b. All nominees must be films that were released theatrically in the United States in 2015.
While there will, of course, be bias when it comes to these ‘awards’ because this is a flag-waving Jupiter Ascending fan account, I still absolutely think it’s worth running them and I can’t wait to see the nominations that you all come up with! I will attempt to be as democratic as I can when it comes to putting together the nominations lists, and will – wherever possible – select the candidates that voters get behind. The more people participate, the more democratic the selection of the nominees will be.
That means that it’s up to YOU lot to decide who/what you want the nominees to be. You can let me know your picks in one of two ways:
1. By re-blogging this post and adding your nominees.
1. Please only send me your nomination picks once, to avoid double counting.
2. You may put forward up to five nominations per category (if you can’t come up with five picks per category, just name however many you can come up with. To participate, you must be able to nominate at least two different films per category).
3. You must have let me know your picks by Saturday 23rd January, as that’s when the official nominees will be ‘announced’ and rolled out for the voting to begin.
Right, I hope you all find the prospect of this as fun and exciting as I do! I’m really looking forward to running this, and think it should be a great way of celebrating the films that typically get completely ignored (or even derided, as in the case of poor Jupiter Ascending) come awards time – in that sense, it’s as much an antidote to the Oscars as it is an antidote to the Razzies.
Please note that while I’m tagging a number of films, by no means should your picks be limited to the names I’m tagging – I’m tagging various popular 2015 films purely to help get the word out there, since as much as I love my Jupiter Ascending fandom I do want fans of other films to get involved and participate as well.
With all that done and out of the way, there’s not much else to say other than I hope you all take part and help to spread the word about the first-ever Sparklie Film Awards! If there are any other categories people are dying to see, let me know and I’ll consider making an addendum post asking people to nominate for them too.
Oooh this looks fun.
(Even though I don’t really see that many films, alas.)
1. Best Picture -Mad Max: Fury Road -The Martian -The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2 -Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Jupiter Ascending
2. Best Moment -BB8 gives the thumbs up to Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Nux’s death in Mad Max: Fury Road -Jupiter’s “I’m going to make sure that whatever you do to my family, you’re not able to do to anyone else” in Jupiter Ascending -The black tar pit scene in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -The Helicarrier arriving in Avengers: Age of Ultron
3. Best Heroic Performance -John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Carrie Fisher as Leia in Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Charlize Theron as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road -Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron
4. Best Villainous Performance -Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Best Double Act -Max and Furiosa (Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron) in Mad Max: Fury Road -Nux and Capable (Nicholas Hoult and Riley Keough) in Mad Max: Fury Road -Joy and Sadness (Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith) in Inside Out -Susan and Nancy (Melissa McCarthy and Miranda Hart) in Spy -Finn and Rey (John Boyega and Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
6. Best Visuals -Mad Max: Fury Road -Star Wars: The Force Awakens -Jupiter Ascending -Inside Out
“Oh shit,” I realised towards the end of Captain America 2, as a load of government-approved flying weaponry took to the sky to target pre-decided threats, “This film is about drones. Of course. Shit shit shit shit shit.”
I sort of wish I’d picked that up earlier, really. It was right there in front of me. Of all the Marvel films, I think this one’s the mostly firmly set in the ‘real’ world, despite the fact that its main character is a 1940s super-soldier frozen in ice and resurrected in the present day. It deals with government surveillance, and the priority of safety over liberty, and how the people in charge can’t always be trusted, and oh my god the ‘good guys’ kill so many people in this. The body count is through the roof! I mean, it’s done stylishly, but it’s still, well, done. (Although not by Captain America himself, as far as I remember.)
Speaking of Cap himself, he may be one of the title characters but I’m not sure the title really represents the film well at all. The Winter Soldier’s actually barely in it, believe it or not, and it’s much more a ensemble piece than a Captain America film, I would say. Actually, add a couple of scenes and it could just as easily have been a Black Widow film. She gets a lot of screentime and character development, and I love her so that’s good. And FALCON, too! I think he’s actually the heart of the film more than any of the other characters. He doesn’t get that much to do but he comes off as a real superhero and loyal friend, without any of the dark side/untrustworthiness that a lot of the other characters had developed, so that was good.
But y’know, there’s one thing I really want from a Marvel film that none of them have really done. I want to know about the people on the ground, the civilians. All the stuff in this movie- the weapons, the surveillance, the invasions of privacy- that was about them. Heck, technically, it’s about us. And yet we never hear from anyone who’s not either a superhero, a supervillain, or intimately connected to one of them in some way. But I want to know how New York picked itself back up after Loki’s attack on it. I want to know where the money came from to rebuild all those homes and lives, and if it did. And I really, really want to know what happened after this movie ended. Were innocent bystanders killed by (spoiler alert) the falling helicarriers? Did superheroes start to fall out of favour altogether? Were people unnerved by the revelations about SHIELD, about how well their rights were nearly taken away? Were there protests? Riots? I’d give my right arm to see a story told from the perspective of the ordinary citydwellers caught up in all this, but it’s probably not forthcoming. Oh well, there’s always fanfic…
Other disconnected and very very spoilery thoughts: -I really thought Fury was dead (let’s face it, the odds of there being two black men in a Hollywood blockbuster and both of them making it to the end are slim indeed) but I’m glad he wasn’t. -I spotted the name ‘Anthony Stark’ on the list of targets. Also, I think just about every Avenger except Hawkeye (poor Hawkeye) got a mention. -And Dr Strange did, too! -If you’ve played any of the Fallout games, the bit with Zola might feel kinda familiar. (Largely thanks to the aesthetics and the accent.) Or maybe that’s just me. -I was really glad Maria Hill had a pretty big role in this. She’s cool. -STAY AFTER THE CREDITS YOU MEET SOME GUYS WE’VE BEEN EXPECTING TO MEET SOON -It’ll be a crime if there isn’t a Black Widow movie after this. (I’d be totally up for a Falcon one, too.)
IF YOU STILL THINK THIS MOVIE IS GONNA BE A DUMB MERCH-MOVING GIMMIK I DON’T WANT TO EVEN TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW
My youngest brother is a MASSSIVE Lego fan so he booked advance tickets and went on his own in the middle of the afternoon just to see this and then he came on Skype and wouldn’t stop talking about it for twenty minutes
