The 88th Academy Awards (2016)

The 88th Academy Awards were well underway at the Dolby Theatre, by early morning today, where I am. It was one hell of an event too! Hosted by Chris Rock (he voices Marty in the Madagascar franchise), this event brought forth many surprises, laughs and will give us memories to remember, with the main highlight being Leonardo DiCaprio winning his first Oscar after a long wait!

The host: Chris Rock

The main issue with this year’s award ceremony was the fact that there were no black nominees. While this may have been controversial to many, Chris Rock certainly did make the most of it to entertain everyone around. His line, “Black people don’t care about these! We’re too busy being raped and lynched to worry about who won Best Documentary Short!” He also questioned the need for separate categories for males and females in acting! After all, if you are an actor you should be able to play both! As he said, “Robert de Niro is not gonna say ‘I’ll slow down here to let Meryl Streep catch up with me!’” The other interesting thing that occurred was Chris Rock advertising Girl Scout cookies, and it resulted in a collection of over $65000 too!

Now, onto the winners:

Best Picture: Spotlight (Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, and Blye Pagon Faust)

Todd McCarthy’s biographical crime drama talks about The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, that investigated the widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. The Globe earned the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. It was one of the top contenders for the accolade, with The Revenant being the only other close competitor (my pick was The Martian). “The film gave a voice to the survivors, and the voice is amplified by this Oscar” the team said as they accepted the final award of the night. Michael Rezendes, the real life reporter (played by Mark Ruffalo in the film) was present for the occasion.

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Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant)
Winning the award for Best Director second time in a row, after last year’s Birdman, (the third director to do so) Alejandro G. Iñárritu continues to impress us with his versatile filmmaking styles. The Revenant is the survival tale of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who was left for the dead by his team after being mauled by a grizzly bear.

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Ah, this was the best moment of the night, for a Leo fan like me! After being eluded by the Oscar for his better performances in Blood Diamond and The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio finally had a chance to give his Oscar speech following a long standing ovation. He plays Hugh Glass, the survivor of the film. With barely any dialogue but with a wide range of expressions and good use of body language, this was a well-deserved win. Being an environmentalist, he also gave a shout-out to climate change before signing off – “Climate change is real, it is happening right now… it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. Let's not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.” DiCaprio was all praise for Tom Hardy too, saying, "The only thing better than his acting on screen was his friendship off screen."

Best Actress: Brie Larson (Room)
You have seen her as the crazy school girl in 21 Jump Street, but get ready to see her as Joy "Ma" Newsome, the mother who is held captive in a room for seven years, who has the responsibility of introducing her child to the world outside. “The thing I love about movie making is how many people it takes to make it”, she said, after accepting her accolade.

Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) 
Well this was a surprise! Personally I considered Rylance’s performance to be a bit overrated; it was terrific, no doubt, but I felt that Tom Hardy, for The Revenant, deserved the award more. Rylance plays the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, held captive in the US, while the Americans try to use him to settle for an exchange of spies. His referred to his famous line in the movie “Would it help?” during his speech, saying, “If anyone asks 'Would it help working with Tom Hanks?', the answer is certainly yes”.

Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

While there was slight controversy about placing Vikander in the supporting category and not the lead actress category even though the title refers to her character, the award was well deserved. Vikander plays Gerda Wegener, the wife of Einar Wegener (played by Eddie Redmayne, also a nominee), the letter being the one of the first people to undergo a sex change operation.

Best Animated Feature: Inside Out (Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera) 
I was disappointed this film didn’t become the fourth animated film to be in the Best Picture category, but I am certainly happy it won the Best Animated Feature award. As the recipients said, “This film was born from watching our children grow up...”, the film is about a 11-year old girl who has five emotions/personalities in her head, and how we see the world through their eyes. This is one family film worth watching, and is as good as any other Pixar film you’ll come across.

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant) 
Three years in a row – following Gravity and Birdman – Lubezki has been the proud recipient of this award. The Revenant gives him an opportunity to use his skills again, as he gives us some terrific action scenes, and equally grueling ones too. The scene where the grizzly bear attacks Hugh Glass is one to look out for!

Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Makeup and Best Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road

This post apocalyptic thriller (the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise) emerged as the film with most wins, bagging 6 out of its ten nominations! While the storyline was not that impressive, I really loved the sets, camerawork, and the mind boggling action. This film certainly deserved the awards, and credit must be given to its artistic touches.

Best Original Score: Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
It’s not often you see a Tarantino movie winning in categories other than screenplay, but well, here’s surprise! This was one award the film deserved winning, even if it otherwise fell way below my expectations in terms of acting and storyline.

Other winners:
Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short) 
Best Original Song: Writing's on the Wall" - Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith (Spectre) 

The Revenant entered the ceremony with the most nominations (12) (winning three) and Mad Max: Fury Road ended up winning the most (6). The ceremony went well, thanks to the excellent hosting by Chris Rock. The performances of the nominated songs were excellent, and overall, the event went smoothly.

#Oscars #Oscars2016 #88thacademyawards

Skyfall (2012)

Director: Sam Mendes
Story: Robert Wade, John Logan, Neal Purvis (based on the character created by Ian Fleming)
Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fieness
Music: Thomas Newman
Time: 143 minutes
Bottom-line: Bit goofy, but exhilarating! 

Skyfall marks the fiftieth anniversary of the classic, unforgettable MI6 agent, James Bond. The twenty-third installment in the James Bond franchise stars Daniel Craig as 007 and Judi Dench as M. The film begins in Istanbul, where Bond and Eve (Naomi Harris) chase a mercenary. As Bond and the mercenary fight on top of a train, M orders Eve to take a direct shot, which ends up hitting Bond, who falls into a river, and is presumed dead. Following the event, M faces pressure from Gareth Mallory (Fieness), the Intelligence and Security Committee, to retire. After a terrorist attack, the MI6 is forced to relocate its emergency offices underground. Bond eventually returns after hearing about the attack, and though he fails all the required tests, M approves his return to the field. After a series of events Bond meets Silva (Bardem), the film’s villain. The rest of the film focuses on the Bond-Silva encounters, with particular importance on M’s character.

Craig as Bond. James Bond

The film begins with an exciting encounter, as always; but then it slows down a bit. The process of Bond getting back to the field is shown in detail. But nevertheless, the action sequences were interesting, especially the drama at the Macau casino. One thing odd about Skyfall is that the villain makes an entry only after 70 minutes into the film (“He’s the villain we’ve all been waiting for... for seventy minutes, that is!”). Silva is that one villain more bent on destroying M rather than Bond, which is why the film’s climax is unique.

Bardem as Silva

Daniel Craig impresses again, playing the role I feel he was born to play (as I wrote earlier in Casino Royale, Craig has always been my mental picture of Bond). Judi Dench does an amazing job as M, and among her recent films, it is one of her best performances. The new characters are Gareth Mallory, played well by Fieness, the bond girl – surprisingly with a very short screen time – Bérénice Lim Marlohe as Séverine, and finally, the villain – Silva. I felt that Bardem could have done a much better job at playing a more horrific villain – his role as Anton Chigurh in No Country in Old Men still haunts me. Craig and the others manage to throw in a few bits of dry humour as well (like during Bond’s word-association test!)

Dench as M

The film’s cinematography is superb, as is the background score. Perhaps the main highlight of the technical aspects is Adele’s Skyfall theme that plays as the opening credits roll, immediately after Bond is shot. The song later won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and boy, was it good! The stunts were exciting to watch, but again, as in most films, the more exciting it is, the more ridiculous it is (I mean which driver continues to drive a train after half of it has been “sawed” off??) The climax was goofy; it looked more of a Home Alone type showdown!

Marlohe as Severine

Thanks to its terrific acting performances, camera work and stylish presentation, Skyfall marks the fiftieth anniversary in such finesse and elegance. To me, Casino Royale was a better Bond film, but this one definitely is worth a watch!

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%

21 Jump Street (2012)

Director: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Screenplay: Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill (adaptation of the 1987 TV series)
Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Time: 109 minutes
Bottom-line: You’ll be on the floor laughing before you know it!

Chief Hardy: “Do you even know the Miranda rights?”
Jenko: “Well it obviously starts with... if you have the right to... remain an attorney...”
Chief Hardy: “Did you just say you have the right to be an attorney?!?”
Schmidt: “Well, you do have the right to be an attorney if you want to...”

In one of the most hilarious and scintillating comedy films of the decade, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star as the (polar opposite) buddy cops Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko respectively. The former is bookish and socially awkward (struggles to even ask a girl out to prom night), while latter is dim-witted but muscular. They become friends at the Police Academy, and partners on bicycle patrol. After a foiled arrest (involving the above conversation between Hardy and Jenko!), the two of them are assigned to a mission where they infiltrate a high school to control the spread of a new drug HFS (guess the expansion?). Due to their youthful appearance, they fit right in, but not before accidentally switching their identities and taking the drug themselves, and soon getting into all sorts of trouble!

Whether Jenko manages to learn any chemistry in his AP class or not, (according to him, “Chemistry's the one with the shapes, right?”) there is definitely some excellent chemistry between the two lead actors. Both Hill and Tatum do a terrific job in making you laugh, whether it is because of their comic dialogues or gauche actions... the fact that they unintentionally interchange their student profiles and enter into classes not suited for their character adds to the fun – Jenko goes to AP Chemistry along with “geeks” while Schmidt goes to drama lessons. One of the best moments of the film is when the cops themselves are forced to take HFS to maintain their undercover identity (made even funnier by the CGI used to portray their delirium and hallucinations!)

Hill as Schimdt (left) and
Tatum as Jenko

The plot is made entertaining mainly because of the acting, including that of the supporting cast. The scene where the cops meet Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), manager of the Jump Street program, is one where you most certainly will be on the floor laughing, thanks to the dialogues involving Ice Cube in his cameo role! The plot twists are good, and the best part is that every one of them adds to the fun in this roller-coaster ride. The content is risqué is many places but the story is written such that the profanity or crude humour doesn’t spoil the main plot. There is one road chase which was completely unnecessary. The only time the film becomes a little serious is when Jenko and Schmidt get into a fight. But that adds to the drama; and of course, one cannot forget the dramatic sacrifice Jenko makes towards the end, when they face the villain.

With a uproarious, side-splitting plot, powered by captivating, animated performances by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (who, in particular, has done an extremely good job), numerous one-liners (loads of vulgar ones too!) and a list of memorable scenes to watch over and over again, 21 Jump Street is one comedy film you will not regret watching... and I can guarantee that you will burst out laughing!

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 85%

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Story: Matt Charman, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 
Cast: Tom Hanks, Martin Rylance 
Music: Thomas Newman
Time: 141 minutes
Bottom-line: Not the best war film, but a well-made history-drama 

Steven Spielberg’s 1993 drama Schindler’s List is undoubtedly the best film I have seen about World War II, and when I knew that Bridge of Spies was also a war film from the same director, I immediately had high expectations. But the film actually turned out to be a silent but powerful political drama, with many, albeit evanescent, bits of brilliance from Hanks and Rylance.

Hanks as Donovan

1957, New York – Rudolf Abel (Rylance) is arrested by FBI agents when they find evidence of him being a Russian spy. James Donovan (Hanks), a lawyer specialising in insurance, is asked to defend Abel, so that he can have a fair trial to reduce the Soviet Union’s chance to use it for propaganda. Donovan agrees, but he realises that he seems to be the only one to take his work seriously; everyone around him thinks he is just putting up an act. Meanwhile, Francis Gary Powers, an American agent, is shot down and captured in Russia, and an American economics student is also arrested for being a spy, in Germany. Donovan is asked to request the exchange of Powers for Abel, but he also tries to include the student, to make a 2-for-1 exchange. How does he do it?

The real James Donovan

Though almost every summary/review categorises Bridge of Spies as a “thriller” film, it is actually just a war drama; not a “thriller” like an Indiana Jones film or Jaws. There’s nothing special about it, except that the spies, both Russian and American, are portrayed as actual spies, not James-Bond-type spies, in the sense that importance is given to the way they behave in the enemy camp and the people trying to get them out, not on the audacious stunts that you expect them to pull out any moment. The thrill comes from the dialogues and acting, and the story is made more authentic thanks to the settings.

Tom Hanks does pretty much nothing in the film except talk – he talks to his wife and children like a family man worries that his family is in danger because of his defending Abel; to Abel he talks like a trustworthy lawyer, though he knows he is dealing with a Soviet spy; to the Russians he talks in a cogent manner with a bold tone, convincing them for the exchange... in short, if someone can make you get such an array of vicarious feelings just by hearing him speak, it can only be Tom Hanks! It is very rare to see critics praise a co-star when you have Hanks in a film, but somehow in Bridge of Spies, Martin Rylance seems to be one to have stolen the show, according to general opinion. But to me, while he did do an excellent job of playing the docile, well-mannered Soviet spy, the performance was nothing compared to that of Hanks. The scene in the bridge where the exchange takes place is touching, when Abel gives a gift to Donovan, who suddenly realises he has nothing to offer, and also when Abel so selflessly agrees to wait till both prisoners are exchanged.

The actual Rudolf Abel (left), and the
same character played by Rylance (right)

The background score by Newman, the sets and cinematography were first-class, just like any other Spielberg film; there are no compromises on the technical categories. The story could have been paced a little better in my view, but I liked the fact that Spielberg has decided to make a film to focus on the characters rather than the action of the Cold War. The way he brings out the subtle differences between the two countries is worth noticing (like when Donovan looks out the window of the train). The acting is magnificent, and the direction, matchless.

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%

The Martian (2015)

Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: Drew Goddard (based on the book by Andy Weir)
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams
Time: 141 minutes
Bottom-line: Matt Damon all the way! 

Help is only 140 million miles away...

Ridley Scott is one of those directors who has had a bumpy career in my view. His successful movies pop up occasionally, but the impact they have is tremendous. His 2015 science fiction thriller The Martian strikes all the right notes and it emerges as one of the highest rated films of 2015, and one to look out for this award season!

The year 2035: The crew of Ares III manned expedition to Mars, consisting of botanist/astronaut Mark Watney (Damon), geologist/commander Melissa Lewis (Chastain), Rick Martinez (Michael Peña), Beth (Kate Mara), Dr. Beck (Sebastian Stan) and Dr. Vogel (Askel Hinnie) are forced to abort their mission as they are struck by a severe dust storm. In this process, Watney is hit by debris, and loses contact with the crew, who presume him to be dead. Lewis gives the order to launch, leaving Watney behind. But of course, Watney isn’t dead; not yet at least! He makes his way back to the Hab and nurses himself, and finally comes to know what has happened. How does this astronaut aka “The Martian” survive on Mars, without any contact with NASA, with barely enough food for 300 sols?

Damon as botanist Mark Watney

How often does a space film offer so much of everything? The Martian is the package I’ve been waiting for all year – it has a fair amount of science, comedy, emotions and enough drama to keep you glued to your seat. The film talks about the various plans Watney comes up with to establish contact, to grow food (on a planet where nothing grows, as he puts it), produce water and so on... Simultaneously we also see how the people of NASA and other organisations, as well as the crew of Ares III put forth their efforts to rescue Watney. Of course, it is a little ridiculous to think how an astronaut can do some many things perfectly – but then, he is the best botanist on the planet, and all survival films need that sort of ultra-talented hero to make a story!

Chastain as Commander Lewis

The acting is the best part, and in that aspect, Matt Damon steals the show. This actor has got used to playing the role of a person waiting to be saved by others (following Interstellar, Saving Private Ryan and so on...), and in The Martian, he is funny, dramatic, and scientific enough, to earn himself a well-deserved Oscar nod. His humorous one-liners are one of the highlights of his performance (including his emphatic "In your face, Neil Armstrong!" ), and I also liked the way he expresses a wide range of emotions – though at times you wonder how an astronaut in that situation can afford to be so casual!  

The Ares III crew - Watney, Lewis,
Beth (Mara), Dr. Beck (Stan; in black)
and Dr. Vogel (Hinnie)

The Martian is outstanding in cinematography; every sequence is captured in a crystal-clear manner (without unnecessary shaky-cam or such). The settings and visual effects are marvellous too. I liked the way how the story portrays science, while still keeping within bounds of human abilities. As I said earlier, the hero is ultra-talented, but is not a superhero (though Watney wants to fly like Iron Man). That is the reason why as each sol goes by, you as a viewer silently keep cheering Watney to go on, and when he finally signs off, you immediately feel like applauding this brave astronaut.

Ridley’s Scott’s latest sci-fi drama is certainly one of his best films, and easily a favourite of this year’s Oscars. The story may not be entirely believable, but Damon’s magic entices you so much that you don’t really care! The Martian is my pick for this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture.

My Rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%