What was the last movie you've seen?

[MrPopo]

Eh, that's enough of an endorsement for me. I'm planning on seeing A Million Ways to Die in the West solely based on wanting to see Liam Neeson play an American Cowboy.

[Luke]

Eh, that's enough of an endorsement for me.

It's two hours of the trailer, so you get what you'll expect. I'm not in the best of moods as of now, but I don't think I'm being harsh regarding my snip of a review.

[Gooseberrysoda]

just saw "Jason X" again. miserable failure of a space thriller, but at least someone had the common sense to just keep him frozen back in 2010.

Also re-watched Batman Returns, which I'm positive is the best live-action Batman movie.

[dsheinem]

Oscar picks?

As of this morning I finally saw all the Best Pic nominees. My rankings:

Best Picture:
1. Nebraska
2. 12 Years a Slave (will likely win)
3. Her
4. Gravity
5. Dallas Buyers Club
6. The Wolf of Wall Street
7. American Hustle
8. Philomena
9. Captain Phillips

^Nebraska, Her, and Gravity were really the three films that struck me as doing something interesting and innovative with genre, narrative, performance, direction, etc. Most of the rest are typical genre fare (biopics were big this year) and I've mostly ranked them by how powerful the stories were and how masterfully they were told. I'm not sure that #6-9 really deserve to be in the best picture talk at all.

Best Actor:
1. Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
3. Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) (will likely win)
4. Christian Bale (American Hustle)
5. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

^Dern is a big reason I made Nebraska my best picture nominee, but this is some really tough competition here and I could see a reasonable argument for anyone but Leo here.

Best Actress:
1. Judi Dench (Philomena)
2. Amy Adams (American Hustle)
3. Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Didn't see:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) (will likely win)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

^I didn't see the two that I am probably most interested in since the films weren't Best Picture nominations. Dench was ace, the other two I saw were decent. Everything I've read/heard suggests that Blanchett is a lock.

Supporting Actor:
1. Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
2. Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) (will likely win)
3. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
4. Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
5. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

^I feel like #1 and #2 are both pretty good, but it's a steep drop off after that. Hill impressed me the most here, but Fassbender might get the nod given the strong showing for 12 Years as a whole across the categories.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1. Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
2. June Squibb (Nebraska)
3. Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) (will likely win?)

Didn't see:
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

Lawrence stole the show in American Hustle and gave that movie an edge that I don't think it would have had without her. I can't call this one very well at all, though. Squibb was hilarious, but I am not sure if the Academy will care about that in such a drama-heavy year.

Best Director:
1. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón) (will likely win?)
2. Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
3. American Hustle (David O. Russell)
4. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
5. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)

Where's Spike Jonze? Her needed to be here, and may have been #2 for me after Gravity. Gravity is such a phenomenal feat of directing that none of the rest of these come close in my mind. That said, the Academy members might not have seen it in 3D or IMAX and their DVD screeners could lower their appreciation. I wouldn't be shocked it they gave it to any of these, and Hooper is the dark horse here as he's due (and, along with Aronofsky, was robbed in 2010).

[BitFaced]

The Wind in the Willows (Volume 1) 1995
Well animated enough, and Rik Mayall is enjoyable.

[Luke]

ALL IS LOST

It's like LIFE OF PI without a tiger.

This might be my favorite marooned movie, but that doesn't say much as I'm not a big fan of one man shows. But for those who liked CAST AWAY and movies of that ilk, definitely check out ALL IS LOST. Robert Redford is great, the dialogue is non existent, and the scenery is posh. Worth a watch.

[Sload Soap]

I also found the movie conveyed timed terribly, if it was not for the title I would have had no idea on the grasp of the time that had passed.

I thought that as well. Nobody seems to age at any appreciable rate and the plantation seemed stuck in time. I (over)thought it might have been the directors way of inferring slavery was like this deathless purgatory for all concerned but, nah, just an oversight in the production.

[Michi]

Oscar picks?

I only saw 4 of the 9 films nominated for best picture (Gravity, Captain Phillips, Philomena and American Hustle), since most of them didn't bother to show up in any theaters nearby (Though they may show up after the Oscars. That happens a lot around here.) So I can't comment too much, but from what I saw I'd rank those in the same order you did.

Just about everything else I consider a toss-up, though I lean towards Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress. Her role might have been small, but I paid attention to every second she was on screen. But again, I didn't see enough to form much of an opinion, so what do I know?

The only other thing I can think of is Best Animated Film and I will be shocked if it doesn't go to Frozen. That film's popularity seems so vast right now that I don't think even a Miazaki film can threaten it too much.

This is going to be the first time I've bothered watching even part of the Oscars in quite a while.

[jvalentine98]

Sleepwalkers was the last movie I watched. The old Stephen King movie. Love that one. I want to get the Night Flier on DVD but it's hard to find and expensive, for an old King movie.

[Luke]

Not that I don't like his body of work (in an awfully hilarious way), but wtf was Tyler Perry doing at the Oscars?


Good on Cate for her win.