Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Movies and more

Rotten Tomatoes on Selma
If you go to that link under the picture, you'll see that the critics gave Selma a rating of 99% "fresh." That's probably the most of any movie I've seen for ages. The audience rating is 88%, but still. I went to see it on Sunday.

I figured that because of the playoff game between Seattle and Green Bay that the movie at 12:00pm would be lightly attended. That was an understatement: I was the only person in the huge theater until about five minutes after the show started, when another woman came in by herself. The weather outside was frightful; lots of rain and wind, and most of Bellingham was inside hunkered around the TV, watching the playoff game. Now the weather is sunny and will stay that way until Thursday, my hiking day. (grump)

I loved the movie, plain and simple. It tells the story of the three-month period in 1965 when Martin Luther King rallied support in Selma, Alabama to secure voting rights for the black people in Alabama who were not able to register. Plenty of the scenes brought to life the injustices of the period: Oprah Winfrey plays a black woman who tries to register to vote, and she's expected to know the entire preamble of the Constitution (which she did) and the names of all the judges in Alabama, which of course she didn't. The actor who plays King (David Oyelowo) gained thirty pounds for the role, and he embodied King amazingly well. I was disappointed that neither he nor the director were nominated for their contributions to the movie. But I suspect that this movie will continue to be shown for decades, it's that good, long after others also nominated for Best Picture will be forgotten.

I wanted to see it on MLK weekend when we celebrate his life, and Judy wasn't available to go with me, so I went alone. I would see it again in a second, although there were some very very disturbing scenes as people were attacked and even murdered for their beliefs. Of course, in the end that's also what happened to Dr. King. We have come a long way, but we still have a ways to go. See the movie if you can, in my opinion it deserves to win.

When I left the theater, I asked the usher if she had heard anything about the game, and she told me that unfortunately we were losing big time, 16 to nothing at the half. Saddened, I came home to turn on the rest of the game and see how badly we lost. Well, that game didn't even start until the last five minutes, when we staged the most amazing comeback, then Green Bay tied it up, and it went into Overtime. What a game! So I got the best of both worlds: I got to see the movie and see the best of the game, too.
Rotten Tomatoes on Whiplash
On Saturday Judy and I also went to see Whiplash, a movie about a young jazz drummer and his really sadistic teacher, played by J.K. Simmons. He's garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his part as the teacher, and the movie is also nominated for Best Picture. It is a very good movie, indeed, 95% freshness rating by both critics and audience, but I have to say, it was really painful to watch. Miles Teller is also great in it (the drummer), and I thought about the movie for a long time afterwards. I enjoyed it for the art of the movie, but I have to say I'll never see J.K. Simmons in his insurance advertisements, or anywhere else for that matter, without thinking of him in this part. He sure knows how to play a brutal, cold-blooded fiend. He deserves the nomination, for sure.

As far as the movie, it's perfectly filmed and performed, and many parts of it had my heart pounding so hard that I was exhausted when I left the theater. It's that kind of movie. If you see it and have more to say about it, let me know in the comments. I wonder how other people felt about the story.

So now I've seen all the nominated movies except American Sniper. It wasn't loved quite as much by the critics, with a 73% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but I'm not sure I want to see it. It's touted as a pro-war movie by Clint Eastwood, and I hesitate to go. I felt the same way last year about "12 Years a Slave" (because of the brutality) and I went anyway (by myself) and was glad I did. I'll probably see Sniper before it's all over. I still have to see Foxcatcher and Still Alice, anyway. They are not playing here quite yet.

If I were giving out the Oscars, Best Picture would go to Selma. But I'm not giving out the awards, and I hear that Boyhood is the likely winner. It is really good, I agree, but it's in a class by itself. I think it would be very hard to choose a winner among this year's nominees for Best Picture. We'll know on February 22.
:-)

19 comments:

  1. i will see 'selma' some time. i thought it was neat that the cast and hundreds of others marched across the bridge in selma, ala yesterday.

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  2. nice...i will see selma soon...and american sniper...both intrigue me...and i have heard great things about both of them...both i think will be emotional as well...

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  3. I've heard that minorities were really not represented at this year's awards for some reason. I would like to see Selma too. I've heard wonderful things about it. Boyhood was definitely different from anything else we've seen.

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  4. Selma, it is. This weekend. Thanks for the review!

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  5. Thank you so much for the reviews. I rarely see movies, but I do love to hear about them.

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  6. Shocking to hear football was the leader , but nice to have a open theater to choose a seat. I need to get to the movies and see a few myself, thanks for the heads up.

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  7. The awards never go to the ones I select, DJan. I want to go to American Sniper, as I hear it's quite a film. My brother went to Selma when he was in seminary to march with some of his classmates.

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  8. We haven't seen any of those movies, but probably will when they come out on DVD. I find movies like "Selma" hard to watch and do remember when all that was going on... but will probably see it eventually. DH definitely wants to see "American Sniper". I want to see "The Theory of Everything". And you mentioned "Still Alice". I read the book a while back and another I believe called, "Losing my mind" (also about Alzheimer's). Didn't know they were making Alice into a movie...

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  9. You had the theater almost to yourself...that doesn't happen often. Did you strike up a conversation with the other woman? :)

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  10. I saw bits and pieces of Boyhood yesterday. David rented it. Pretty good movie. But, then, I am not a movie buff.

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  11. Thanks for sharing your review. Maybe I can get the man out of the house to a movie today. I'd like to see Selma and several others.

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  12. I almost never see movies (except children's movies on DVD.. Nanny McPhee and How to Train Your Dragon 2 have been most watched at our house this winter) .. but I sure enjoy your reviews!
    I think the biggest reason I don't see films is because we don't have television, so I don't see trailers or ads, and I don't know what's playing.
    So it's great that I get an honest opinion and overview via your posts.
    Selma sounds like one to watch.

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  13. So you know you fit into a very tiny category of people when you're the only one attending a movie. That's what makes you an individualist.

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  14. Well at least no one kicked the back of your seat in the theater. That had to have been weird. Thanks for the reviews. I always look forward to them even though I have to wait for the DVD.
    You really did miss all the high anxiety of the game. I was really feeling sorry for all of you on that coast and was amazed at that comeback. Glad you got to see the best part of the game. Go Hawks.
    Hope the Hawks keep an eye the football PSI pressure in the Super Bowl.

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  15. Way to go on Sunday - getting to see a great movie, and the only part of the football game that was any fun!
    We will see another movie on the list this weekend, probably Selma. Boyhood was very good, and so were The theory of Everything and The Imitation Game. If Birdman wins I will be disappointed.

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  16. The only movie I've seen is "Wild." I rarely go to movies anymore. However, I've heard nothing but good reviews about "Selma" so maybe I'll see that one too.

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  17. I always have to wait to see them on DVD, but they are all in my queue and I am looking forward to them all--even if I know some are going to be difficult to watch. :)

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  18. Selma is next on my list of movies to see. I'm sure I'll like it, although movies depicting injustice and violence are always hard for me to watch and stay in my mind for days, if not weeks afterward.

    I saw American Sniper over the weekend and highly recommend it. I don't know that I would call it "pro-war" although I can see how it would be seen that way. It's a movie that makes you think about war, the reasons we fight wars, the not so black and white moral issues soldiers are faced with, and mostly, the awful human toll it takes on those who engage in combat. It was hard for me to watch as I'm especially aware and sensitive to PTSD and its profound impact on so many soldiers. I'm not sure how anyone can watch it and feel okay about war and the emotional/personal/psychological price some soldiers--and their loved ones--pay for their service (but that's just my personal viewpoint, which is definitely anti-war). I'm curious to hear what you thought about it after you've seen it. It definitely made people think. It was absolutely silent after it ended and everyone exited the theatre.

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  19. I've heard nothing but good buzz about Selma. I imagine it will make its way to Netflix eventually. At least I hope so. There's nothing even close to resembling a movie theatre around here.

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