Thursday Movie Picks: Love in the Tech Age

This week's theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is about love in the tech age. I stretched this theme a bit. My favorite techy movies have love in them, but only one pick has it as a main focal point. Here are three movies where technology played into love.

1) Her

I think this movie will be popular. Theo falls in love with his operating system, Samantha. It's one of my favorite movies and so beautiful.

2) Chatroom

This film is about teens in a chatroom, and it's staged in a way where it looks like they are sitting in a hotel room talking to each other. There isn't a central romance between characters, but one of the teens, Emily feels unloved by her parents. It's a very clever film with an amazing cast.

3) Searching

This film is shot entirely on computer screens, tablets and phones. While the plot is about a father looking for his missing daughter - why did that daughter go missing? Because a boy fell in love with her and catfished her. 

Review: Horse Girl

Sometimes that awkwardness never leaves you.

Sarah (Alison Brie) is a socially awkward woman working at an arts and craft store. She spends time binge watching her favorite supernatural crime show over and over, visiting the horse she used to ride as a child much to the owner's chagrin, but more recently she's been having strange dreams and nose bleeds. She eventually starts to question her reality.

This film reminded me a lot of Safety Not Guaranteed. It's a quirky story that eventually gets weird. Very weird. In fact, I'm not sure what exactly the writers were going for by the end if it. I want to assume they knew exactly what they wanted their movie to be, but the way it translated on screen felt aloof and kind of messy.

That's not to say it's bad, in fact, I liked a lot of Horse Girl. It really didn't start feeling jumbled until the ending. I expected something a little closer to the horse girl stereotype I'm familiar with but that's only a small part of Sarah. It's also the most interesting part, like her brief flashback of an accident that permanently injured her friend. Sarah is an interesting character and I enjoyed the glimpses we got into her life. I just wish everything had been a bit more cohesive. 

Alison Brie is very good in this. I think it might be her best performance. She's also a co-writer and you can tell she cared a lot about Sarah and put everything into her performance.  I liked the supporting cast as well, especially Molly Shannon and Matthew Gray Gubler. This is a bit of a nitpick, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how Sarah and Nikki (Debby Ryan) became roommates. I kept waiting for them to address it because Nikki is clearly at least a decade younger and they don't appear to like each other that much at all. It's a nitpick, but it's something I thought about the entire time.

This film is currently streaming on Netflix and I think it's definitely worth the watch, it's just a bit messy.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B-

Memorable Quote: "It's okay, I'm making an anklet." - Sarah (Alison Brie)

2020 Blind Spot Series: Malcolm X

What I knew going in: I had seen parts of it on TV before.

Spike Lee's sprawling epic follows the legendary activist Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington) from his gangster days, his prison sentence, and his eventual rebirth in the Nation of Islam before becoming what we know him as now - Malcolm X. 

I realize now why I probably never saw this all in one sitting. This movie is three and a half hours long. I must have known that at some point but when I went to start this film on Netflix it came as quite a surprise. 

To tell Malcolm X's entire story, I think the length is justified. There's just so much and you really can't leave out certain parts of it if you want the big picture. I think Spike Lee did a great job of containing everything and an amazing performance by Denzel Washington helped as well.

One of the things I always want from a biopic is a teaching moment. I liked that this film gave me a better understanding of his journey. In history, especially for me growing up in a small, predominantly white town, I feel like we were wrongly given broad strokes about various points during the Civil Rights movement, and Malcolm X fell into that category. 

I'm glad I finally sat down and finished this. I realized that I never saw any part of this film before he got out of prison. It was always afterwards that I'd catch it somewhere. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "I have to stand here today as what I was when I was born: a black man." - Malcolm X (Denzel Washington)

Thursday Movie Picks: Meet Cute

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves follows the "meet cute" trope. I'm not going to lie, I had to look this up. I've never heard this term before. It seems obvious in hindsight but Meet Cute is "characters that meet under cute circumstances." So here are a few films I enjoy where that happens.

1) La La Land

Mia and Sebastian have a bad run in at the club, but their official meeting at a garden party where Mia makes his band play I Ran is about as cute as it gets.

2) 5 to 7

Brian and Arielle have an adorably awkward first meeting while smoking cigarettes and begin an affair that can only last between 5 and 7 pm.  Did I mention Arielle's husband has a mistress too? This is a great film, and I highly recommend. Especially if you're an Anton Yelchin fan. 

3) (500) Days of Summer

This isn't about how Tom meets Summer, but how he meets his likely eventual girlfriend. In the lobby at a job interview that they're both competing for, and she has the ironic name of Autumn.

What I watched on TV in January

I almost forgot to post this! I felt like I was on fire blogging in December and January and then I just crashed and burned. Anyways, here's what I was watching on the small screen last month.

The Crown

I did it! I finally finished season 3! To be fair, as dull as the season was at the beginning, I thought the last three episodes were very strong. I'm looking forward to all the drama S4 should bring.

The Outsider

I started this limited series on HBO and I'm booked. Ben Mendelsohn is fantastic as is Cynthia Erivo and Jason Bateman is turning out to be a hell of a director. I can't wait to see where this goes. I've never read the book and have been avoiding all spoilers, shockingly.

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez

Is it bad that at one point in this doc I was like "less football more murder trial?" The saga of former Patriots player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez is certainly something. Even though this was only three episodes, I felt like it could've been trimmed a bit but it was clearly very well researched and informative. One thing I'm not crazy about is how they talked about his sexual relationships. I don't care for people using bisexuality as a "but wait...there's more!" moment and I felt like that's what they did here. 

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

There were so many hilarious parts this season like Midge teaching Susie to swim, the orgy comment, and really so many wonderful one liners. Alex Borstein was on fire and seeing Sterling K. Brown was a nice surprise. I'm sure I knew he was going to be in this season but I had momentarily forgotten until I saw him again. I hope the way this season ended marks a huge change for Midge, because right now I feel like she's has the least amount of growth. This season focused a lot on her tardiness and privilege and I'm ready for that to hopefully be over. It's kind of awkward when Joel, the man who cheated on Midge and left her in the pilot episode actually comes off looking better at times. And I hope this isn't the last we see of Shy, though I think it might be. I'd like to see Midge apologize and explain herself in person. The biggest weakness were Midge's parents, especially her father. I found their story grating. Hopefully there's less of that next season.

Review: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Not the only dames in Gotham looking for emancipation.

Notorious Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) got dumped by The Joker and when she impulsively broadcasts that message all over Gotham, she realizes very quickly that many people want to kill her now that Joker doesn't have her back. Mainly Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) but not before he agrees to let her track down a priceless diamond that was stolen by a pick pocket, Cassandra (Ella Jay Basco) Roman's singer/driver, Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) a jaded police officer, Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) and the mysterious Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) also get in on the action and these women find themselves having to work together to defeat a common enemy.

After the colossal mess that was Suicide Squad, It's nice to see its one shining star in Harley Quinn gets another go at the big screen. Yes, Quinn is not part of the original Birds of Prey. And yes, she does take over this movie, but that doesn't mean the rest of the women are constantly pushed to the back. In fact, each gets a fair amount of screen time. 

Birds of Prey is here to embraces its campiness and show powerful women kicking ass, and I'm here for it. I appreciate director Cathy Yan's lens, especially during some of the more uncomfortable scenes with Sionis. A lesser director could've done some seriously exploitative things here but she films it in a way that gets its point across without that extra baggage. The fight choreography is extraordinary. Especially during the final battle which takes place in a fun house.

Margot is amazing again as Harley, as are the rest of the cast. Smollett-Bell as Black Canary was my favorite of the bunch, she's bad ass and vulnerable and seeing the Canary scream was a great moment. Ewan McGregor you can tell was having so much fun with this.

Birds of Prey had all the cards stacked against it because of Suicide Squad and everyone involved came out swinging. Now, Birds of Prey is one of DCEU's best films. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "It's a cross bow, it's not a bow and arrow I'm not fucking 12." - Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)

2020 Academy Award Winners

We made it! I know I sound like a broken record with how disappointed I am with the garbage nominations this year, and how it's the least amount of fun I've had in my entire decade of Oscar blogging, but tonight was actually...mostly fun. We saw history made with Parasite becoming the first foreign language film to win an Oscar. Taika Waititi won for screen writing, and Kelly Marie Tran was given more screen time here than the entirety of Rise of Skywalker. Here are a list of the winners, plus my thoughts after an entire bottle of wine.

A few quick thoughts: Janelle Monae's opening number had me questioning my sexuality. A lot of the presenters  called out the academy's abysmal lack of nominations for women and people of color. Ball's in your court, Academy. Stop voting the way you do.

Eminem performed Lose Yourself for some reason. I have no idea why but I still love that song and he didn't perform it when he actually won for it, and I was happy to see it here. It was much better than some of the other segments (like that awful Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig bit that went on way too long)

Drink, King.

Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
I thought for sure 1917 was going to win until Bong won Best Director. Then I knew it had a change. I cheered and am SO happy the right film won. 


Best Director
Martin Scorsese - The Irishman
Todd Phillips - Joker
Sam Mendes - 1917
Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho - Parasite
I screamed. I thought Mendes had this in the bag, what a lovely surprise.


Best Actor
Antonio Banderas - Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio  - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver - Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix - Joker
Jonathan Pryce - The Two Popes
The best part about this category was when Olivia Colman got up on stage and said last year was the "best night of her husband's life." And then she pointed out she had three children. Hilarous, and amazing. I love Olivia. For the actual win, my face matches Billie's.

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo - Harriet
Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story
Saorise Ronan - Little Women
Charlize Theron - Bombshell
Renee Zellweger - Judy
Renee's speech felt like it lasted 20 minutes. This was a boring win, but an expected one.


Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins - The Two Popes
Al Pacino - The Irishman
Joe Pesci  - The Irishman
Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Pitt's speech was really emotional and he talked about enjoying the view of riding DiCaprio's coat tales. Can't complain.


Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates - Richard Jewel
Laura Dern - Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson  - Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh - Little Women
Margot Robbie - Bombshell
I can't believe Laura Dern chose THAT dress to win in. I'm struggling to say anything about the acting categories because they were so predictable. 

Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi - Jojo Rabbit
Steve Zaillian - The Irishman
Anthony McCarten - The Two Popes
Greta Gerwig - Little Women
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver - Joker
TAIKA TAIKA TAIKA! He looked so overwhelmed. I'm so happy with this win. I can't wait to purchase Jojo Rabbit the minute it comes out on blu ray.


Best Original Screenplay
Rian Johnson - Knives Out
Noah Baumbach - Marriage Story
Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns - 1917
Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won - Parasite
#BONGHIVE The first big win for Bong started here.


Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
I changed my pick last minute from Toy Story to Klaus. Ugh. This was the most vanilla one they could've chosen. I'm sorry, HTTYD series. You deserved better.

International Feature Film
Corpus Christi
Honeyland
Les Miserables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
This was a given. Bong said he was going to have a drink after this, then he won two more Oscars. He's going to be drinking all night.

Best Documentary
American Factory
The Cave
Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland
I feel bad, but I didn't like American Factory. The only other nominee I saw was For Sama and I preferred that.

Best Cinematography
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
I'm so happy to see Roger Deakins picking up back to back Oscars after being robbed for so many years. 


Best Costume Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
This was another one I switched last minute. I had Little Women, then changed to Jojo. I'm happy with this win. Greta Gerwig was too as she cried during it. 


Film Editing
Ford vs. Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Parasite
I got this right too! I wanted Parasite to win though.



Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917
Another one I guessed correctly. I'm happy for the Bombshell team, who deserved it after having to do those terrible things to Charlize Theron's face.


Original Score
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I loved the way they presented the scores this year. They had a female conductor and the orchestra actually played snippets of each nominated film. Hildur Guðnadóttir said the composer is "only as talented as the director" and honey do NOT sell your self short like that. You are so much better than Todd Phillips could ever dream of being.


Original Song
"I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
"I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman
"I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
"Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2
"Stand Up,” “Harriet
No EGOT for Cynthia Erivo. That's disappointing (almost as disappointing as Glasgow not being nominated lol you thought I'd drop it) but I can't argue Elton's win. I liked that song too. The performance of Into The Unknown blew me away tonight. It wasn't my favorite song from Frozen 2 but having all the different Elsa's singing in multiple languages was beautiful.


Production Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
A given, though I was hoping for Jojo or Parasite. OUATIH may not have been my favorite but it did look great.


Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker”
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I thought 1917 was going to win this. I have to laugh at myself because I saw a tweet go by as soon as this lost saying something like "there go its Best Picture chances." Guess they were right.



Sound Mixing
Ad Astra
Ford vs. Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
UGHHHHHH Why doesn't Marvel EVER win this. I can't imagine what it must be like to look at something like Thanos, for example and say "Nah, not voting for that."


Documentary Short Subject
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha
I thought Walk, Run, Cha-cha would win. Skateboard was good, but I hated the way I had to watch it on AE's website. In The Absence was my favorite, I'm bummed that didn't win.


Animated Short Film 
Daughter
Hair Love
Kitbull
Memorable
Sister
I am SO SO SO SO happy for this win and if you have not seen Hair Love yet, please spare 6 minutes and 47 seconds and watch it HERE.

Live Action Short Film 
Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
The Neighbor’s Window
Saria

A Sister
I'm so psyched about this win too. This short absolutely broke me. I would've been fine if A Sister won, but Neighbor's Window was my favorite. 

A few memorable red carpet moments:

How pure are they?

Rian Johnson wearing porg cuff links is everything.