So it's been over a month since my last post, ...much of this is due to the first half of February being my family's celebration period. My birthday is Feb 3rd, my wife Grace's is on the 8th, and my daughter Rose's is on the 9th. Oh, and Valentine's Day is my wife's favorite holiday. :) So, needless to say, there was a lot of parties and merriment...especially when you have someone turning 6. Rose had a school party at our house (my wife runs a preschool out of the house), a school party at school, a family party, and a friends' party. Yeah.
So, when last I wrote, I still had three films left to see to complete all nine Best Picture nominees..."Phantom Thread", "Call Me by Your Name", and "Darkest Hour". Well, I've now seen all three, and I'll tell you a bit about them in that order (which is the order I saw them).
"Phantom Thread". I've only seen a few of Paul Thomas Anderson's films..."Punch-Drunk Love", "Boogie Nights", "There Will Be Blood". I've liked all three (I really liked "Punch-Drunk Love" and was happy with the other two). This film was good, but it was not a film for me. It was definitely a film for someone who loves the art of dress-making. The story was good, and Daniel Day-Lewis wasas good as I've ever seen him. But it was just...good to me.
"Call Me by Your Name". Whew. I was not a fan of this film for the first 90 minutes. It's a picturesque love story set in Italy, where everyone except Michael Stuhlbarg (no offense...see below) is incredibly attractive. Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel...all of them as just beautiful, and the Italian countryside accentuates it. But it was slow...dreadfully slow at times. And then a break happens, and the emotion of it breaks open, and Mr. Stuhlbarg has a monologue that knocked me for a loop. I'd go back and watch that bit of the film again and again. He's a dad, and he's not supposed to be beautiful, but what he says to his son is so incredibly powerful, I can't suitably describe it other than say that it was the best, and basically saved the film for me.
"Darkest Hour". This was a good film to end with. It deals with the two weeks that follow Winston Churchill's appointment to Prime Minister. I still don't believe that was Gary Oldman. I know that he's credited as being Churchill, and everyone KNOWS he played Churchill, but I watched that whole film and I didn't see Oldman at all...I saw Winston Churchill. It's a great film, and Oldman (fine!) is the best at what he does...I can't imagine him not winning Best Actor. It's also a great film to watch just before watching "Dunkirk", as the two films take place nearly simultaneously.
So that's all nine! If I had to pick a winner, I'd guess "Shape of Water", followed by "Lady Bird".
Until next time!
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