A Change Is Gonna Come

The night before the Oscars, I watched "One Night In Miami" on Amazon Prime.  While it was not nominated for Best Picture, it was nominated for multiple awards, and it had been on my watch list for a while.

• Interesting that these 4 men were friends, and I wish I could have seen an actual account of their meetings, not just this really cool imagining of one night.
• Great performances all around by all four gentlemen.  I wish I could have seen more of their individual lives, too, but then the movie would have been really long. Also, it's called "One Night in Miami After Lots of Other Separate Nights".
• I don't know much about Malcolm X, but Kingsley Ben Adir played him the way I thought that he might have been: strong, quiet until he needed to be heard, and driven.  He wanted the men to be leaders of his cause because of their popularity, and he seemed pretty convincing to me.  I can't believe I still haven't watched the Denzel depiction yet.  Must remedy soon.
• I smiled whenever Eli Goree talked and sounded like the Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali I grew up watching.  Some people exaggerate the way he spoke, but not Goree.  It was subtle, if you can say that Ali was subtle at anything at all.
• I'm not much of a football fan, so I'm not familiar with Jim Brown.  I sure as heck don't blame him for wanting to act in movies instead of getting more injuries. 
• Leslie Odom is the biggest reason that I wanted to watch the film.  I don't know anything about Sam Cooke's personality, but I liked Odom's portrayal as he felt like he needed to defend the fame he acquired with music that might not have been black enough for his community.
• I'm glad that Odom got to sing a few times!  It would have been a waste of a movie without it, and he sang everything beautifully.
• I don't understand the scene when Cooke sings at the Copacabana.  Wouldn't the audience be there for the biggest act?  Why would they act like they don't know who he is?  Wouldn't he have had top billing?
• I would like to see more of Malcolm X's photographs.
• "Everybody talks about they wantin' a piece of the pie, well I don't. I want the goddamn recipe."

Great movie, should have been nominated for Best Picture.  I'm glad that Odom was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and I would have been happy for any and all of them had they been nominated, too.

Wonderful, Wonderful Weeds

My last film to watch for Best Picture nominees was "Minari", which I watched on Amazon Prime. 

• "It's not called a penis, it's called a ding dong!"
• Real grandmas bake cookies.
• Anne is such a good big sister.  So much better than I was.
• David is so cute.   I remember watched him get his SAG award and he was adorable when he cried during his acceptance speech because he was so happy. 
• I never thought before about the separating of the female and male chickens, nor of who would have that job.  I also didn't realize that if you dunk the chick's butt in water, you can figure out their sex.  
• As soon as he said the sky was green, I knew it was a tornado.  I don't remember seeing a green sky, though, when I was in Arkansas during a tornado watch.
• Grandma, what does pee taste like?
• "You've never even been to Korea."
• "You're crying again? Because of anchovies?"
• "It's water from the mountains."
• When Grandma was alone and helped out with the trash, I thought of my grandmother, whom broke her hip because she was bringing in the trash barrels.  I miss you, Mama. 

I really enjoyed this film, and watched it again with the Bro's family.  Then Bro immediately went online to find a restaurant nearby for dinner that serves minari.  He was unsuccessful.

Toxic

 Last night, I watched "Promising Young Woman" on Amazon to continue my viewing of the Best Picture nominees for this year's Oscars.

• I was pissed off at the men in the club within the first 5 minutes.  Actually, maybe within 3.  I'm glad the evening turned out to be different from what I was afraid I'd see.
• There were a LOT of hash marks in that notebook!  I guess going out every night for 7 years does that.
• Carey Mulligan is sooo good in this.  Quite deserving of her Oscar nomination.
• Dude, what was up with her parents' house?  The old-fashioned phone made me think I was watching something from the 1950s, but then they were talking about using cell phones, so I knew that was wrong.  Then they showed that fancy living room and I giggled that Cassie still lived there.
• "How many children have you killed?"
• I was kind of upset at Nina's mom.  Why didn't she tell her to get (psychological) help?  Telling someone to just move on is really not that helpful.  I understand she was grieving, too, but, I still didn't like it.
• Loved the scene with Alfred Molina.
• Let me get this straight.  The guys know that women do this fake drunk thing because it happened to their friend, and they still try to take advantage of a drunk woman?  Idiots.
• "Why do you guys have to ruin everything?!"  
• Wait.  Paris Hilton had a song?
• "I'm getting you a bike!"
• OMG, I was sooo upset when I heard her boyfriend's voice on that recording.
• I really liked the scene of her in the dean's office, just chewing on her gum as she talked about the daughter.
• I liked that rendition of "Toxic" while she is approaching the bachelor party.
• I loved the multi-color wig!  If it didn't remind me of her, I'd want one for fun.
• "Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?"
  
• "Enjoy the wedding!"

E.T., Shaun the Sheep Style

Needing some levity after seeing "The Father", I decided to watch "Farmageddon", one of the films nominated for Best Animated Feature.

• I loved all of the little nods to different films and TV shows about aliens, like the theme from "Close Encounters of a Third Kind".
• Sheep eat pizza?  Wouldn't that make their wool really oily?  Or maybe cheesy?
• I want one of those little alien babies!  Or maybe just a replica.  He was just so cute!
• Beings really need to child-proof their spaceships.
• The Hazmats remind me of the guys that respond to a "2319" in Monsters, Inc.
• Heh.  HG Wheels.
• I love that the code to the door is whistling "The X-Files" theme.
• I just learned from imdb that Lu-la's word for Shaun is "tupa", which, in Tagalog, means "sheep"!  Now I want a talking Lu-la saying "tupa".

That was a fun movie.  I wish I could watch "Wolfwalkers", but that's on AppleTV, and I don't have that.

Losing All His Leaves

 Last night, I watched "The Father" on Amazon Prime to continue my Best Picture nomination viewing.

• It did not take a long time for me to be confused.  Maybe 10 minutes.
• It did take me a long time to not be confused.  Maybe a few minutes before the credits began.
• I did realize that we were watching this from his point of view, but I was still confused about the different people with the same / different names.
• It also took me a little bit to get Hannibal Lechter out of my head.  It's not my fault that Anthony Hopkins is so good that he makes his characters unforgettable!
• I still can't figure out who it was that hit him.  Was it Bill?  He never met Paul, right?
• Why would she say that she never said anything about Paris?  This is what confused me the most, I think.
• "They don't even speak English there."
• I was done with the opera music before I got confused.
• I wanted him to be with his mommy, too.  So heartbreaking.

My dad's watching the film in the other room as I write this.  I wonder what kind of questions he'll have for me tomorrow.  I did warn him that I was confused, so at least he was prepared.  I probably won't even be able to answer him!  Oh, well.

Houseless

 The next film on my Oscars watch list was "Nomadland", which I viewed on Hulu.

• The vehicle is named "Vanguard".  You've got my attention.
• "I'm a carnivore."
• The first time I would have needed the bucket would have been the day I'd change my mind about this whole lifestyle.
• That was an interesting conversation with her sister, which made me understand more that this was a choice she made.  Fern had been offered a place to stay at the beginning of the film, but I thought that her pride was holding her back from taking up the offers.  
• "My sailboat is out here in the desert."
• I wanted Fern to end up with Dave, not necessarily in a house, but maybe being nomads together.  But I guess she didn't feel the same way he did about her.
• Really cool that they cast real nomads in the film.  But wait.  Did they think it was a documentary?  I mean, it kind of could be one if not for actors like McDormand and Straithern.
• It would have been nice to see this on the big screen to show off the cinematography.  The landscapes were beautiful.
• See you down the road.

JL: Zack's Way

Back in 2017, I saw "Justice League" twice on opening weekend.  I liked the movie, and when it was announced that director Zack Snyder was going to fulfill his vision of the film with his director's cut, I looked forward to seeing that one, too.  All 4 hours and pennies of it.  I'm glad it was released on HBO Max so that I could pause if needed while I'm at home during the pandemic.  I got myself a blended iced hazelnut coffee from CBTL, and I was ready to go!

Because I was watching from home, and this was a long one, I decided to take notes as I watched, so my points below are in viewing order.  Different points of the film were prefaced by "Part 1..." so I'll include them here, too.  

• The film starts with Superman screaming loud enough for everyone to hear, including underwater in Atlantea.

Part 1: Don't Count On It, Batman

• We see Martha actually selling the farm (kind of a surprise in the cut version).  She and her dog Dusty get into the U-Haul and drive away.  
• "Maybe a man who broods in a cave for a living isn't cut out to be a recruiter, hmmm?" 
• Aw, Lois is wearing the engagement ring Clark was going to give her.
• "WE HAVE NO FEAR!!!" 
• Steppenwolf is much shinier than I remember.

Part 2: The Age of Heroes 

• We actually have a callback to Lex Luthor's warning about barbarians at the gate. 
• Gal looks so awesome in white...also, she doesn't get her clothing smudged at all, even when walking through ancient ruins.  She really is Wonder Woman.
• Ooh...Steppenwolf back story!  Darkseid?  Uh-oh.  I thought Darkseid was the monster in Batman vs. Superman, but I guess not.  Lanterns!

Part 3:  Beloved Mother, Beloved Son

• The closed captioning on my screen said "[imperceptible]" while a dog was barking on screen.  Pretty sure nobody else was talking at the time, but it seemed funny to me that maybe I was going to see a translation of a dog barking, or that most people can usually understand.
• I was wondering what he was going to do with that hot dog.  Fast thinker, that Flash.
• Was that Iris?!?!?!?
• I like the song playing when they meet.
• What happened to his shoes?  Do they always come off when he runs?
• "I start on Monday?"
• Batman: "More or less."  Diana: "More more, or more less?"  Batman: "Probably more less."
• Ah, backstory on Cyborg.  Actually, a lot more on Cyborg throughout, which I enjoyed and now I like him.  I was pretty meh about him with the cut movie.
• I want to ride in that silver Mercedes Batmobile!  I mean, if Bruce drives it, and it has bat wings, isn't it a Batmobile?
• Alfred teaching Diana to make tea!
• A black lasso would be awesome.
• Gotham and Commissioner Gordon!  And now that bat signal appearance makes more sense.

Part 4: Change Machine

• This whole scene of the hostages on Stryker's Island is new.  I remember something about them being in this structure, but I don't remember hostages.  
• "I belong to no one." Yasss, girl.
• "But only a mother box can turn smoke back into a house."  And now Sherry understands how they brought back Superman.  It's a good thing, too, because we are now 2 hours and 15 minutes into the movie and still no Supes.
• Martian Manhunter?!?!?!  YES!!!

Part 5: All the King's Horses

• "She's five thousand years old, Barry.  Every guy's a younger guy."
• Why is there a pregnancy test in Lois' night stand?
• I love how Supes just moves over so Flash runs right past him and crashes into Aquaman.
• I thought Star Labs was in Central City.  So how is it in Metropolis with the Kryptonian ship?  But now I get to see how Lois knew to go to the memorial site.

Part 6: Something Darker

• I take that as a "yes".
• Aww, the voices of his dads!  Not as cool as all of the Jedi voices, but still a nice touch.
• I like Victor's letterman's jacket.
• That was a very different final battle.  Like, no small European town or race between Supes and Flash.

Epilogue

• New suit, Supes?  I like the silver S.
• What is going on with this ending?!?
• OK, so Deathstroke was Robin?  I don't know all of the different Robins.
• Hello, Jared Leto!
• Lois?  What is this news?  ACK! That's why she's the key?
• Nice credit music with piano rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"...then the singing started and I didn't like it anymore.
• That WAS Iris!  It's helpful to read credits, y'all.

I prefer this version over the other cut version.  Everything made a lot more sense to me, including Steppenwolf's motivation to want to kill everyone on Earth.  I'm looking forward to the Flash movie, hoping something from the Barry/Iris meeting is included in it.