I'm sitting in a hotel room in Jackson, MS getting ready to attend the Mississippi Addiction Conference for work. I've been looking forward to this for weeks. 3 days of chatting about addiction, enjoying my hotel room and watching movies/writing about the Oscars. All before heading to my parents for the big weekend.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am meticulously organized about these things.
"Get Out" and "Lady Bird" screeners for Mom/Dad? Check!
27 Days of Oscar checklist? Check!
Oscar party ballots? Check!
Blonde shampoo samples? Mouthwash? Ipad? 2 phone and 1 apple watch chargers? CHECK, CHECK, CHECK CHECK!
Macbook charger?
Macbook charger?
Beuller?
That's right. I left my Macbook charger in Oxford. This may not seem a big deal, and maybe it isn't., except for the fact that I need to watch both "Ferdinand" and "Wonder" which was supposed to require dvd's and a trip to Redbox.
Luckily work trip = work computer, but it doesn't have a dvd player and also...do I really want to type out my last few days of my 27 Days of Oscar on a ThinkPad? If you are a writer, you will understand this.
Needless to say immediately after publishing I will be watching Ferdinand with my fingers crossed that the machine stays alive. Tomorrow I will pay $5.99 to watch "Wonder" on my iPad. The last film, "Loving Vincent" can be watched on my work computer thanks to a screener link.
First world problems, I know.
Anyway, enough of that. Let's get down to business.
Yesterday, Oscar ballots were due and the first of the disgusting Hollywood Reporter Brutally Honest Oscar Ballots came out. I think these are click bait "stories" that feed the nastiest of Film Twitter. I hate them. But many people see them as insight into the way the Academy thinks.
This guy not only thought "Dunkirk" was confusing (moron) he also hated "Call Me By Your Name," citing the age difference...that Armie Hammer looked mid 40s to Chalamet's whatever age he thought he looked.
I will say this to my dying breath. Having lived as a young gay man, one who experienced the exact "bad thing" these supposed saviors of morality think this film is supposedly portraying...you are completely, 100 percent off base with this.
I'm glad they got this one out of the way. If the rest of the ballots continue on this path I will cry homophobia to the Hollywood Reporter. Do not doubt that.
So...since I'm in rant territory, let's go ahead and talk about Best Actor.
Best Actor
Timothee Chalamet - Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington - Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Let's start with Denzel Washington. I watched "Roman J. Israel, Esq." a couple of days ago and found it to be a delight. It has some structural issues to say the least. The first third is a very solid film, but things start to move very quickly in a few areas, character wize, that don't quite earn the speed at which things are moving. But Denzel is fantastic...he honestly gets better with age. I have said this a few times the last couple of days. Not every film has to be a masterpiece.
Daniel Day-Lewis is of course great in "Phantom Thread." It's one of my favorite movies of the year. He somehow is able to balance eccentric genius ass hole with vulnerable gentleness. It's a really remarkable feat.
Gary Oldman, our frontrunner, is fine as Winston Churchill. He is loud and passionate, very British. The internet decided last year that Oldman has been robbed over the years of an Oscar. I actually am not quite sure what he supposedly should have won for. If I had to pick I would have nominated him for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" but I certainly wouldn't have given him the win over Al Pacino ("Scent of a Woman,") Stephen Rea ("The Crying Game") or Denzel ("Malcom X). But alas, he is apparently due.
I think the two most deserving actors in this category are Daniel Kaluuya and Timothee Chalamet, by far. They are both young, first time nominees, and they carry their films. I honestly think that if there is a surprise in this category it is more likely to go to Kaluuya than Chalamet, and if that happens I won't be upset. I won't be terribly upset. They are going up against each other the day before the Oscars for the Independent Spirit Awards as well. It's honestly a toss up there.
But you all know how I feel about this. I've talked so much about "Call Me By Your Name" and Timothee that I almost don't need to say it, right? Timothee's Elio is the best performance of the year.
Will win: Gary Oldman
Should win: Timothee Chalamet
Best Actress
Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird
Meryl Streep - The Post
The only winner that would really bug me out here would be Meryl Streep. Not because she isn't good. I think she is better in "The Post" than "The Iron Lady," but she isn't the best.
I've cooled significantly toward Saoirse Ronan since first seeing "Lady Bird." Sally Hawkins is great in "The Shape of Water," and I would love for her to have an Oscar, and if anyone surprises on March 4th, it will probably be her.
In my opinion the two best performances belong to Margot Robbie and Frances McDormand. Robbie is stunning as Tonya Harding. Same type of performance as Day-Lewis. It's so very multi layered that you hate to love her, but the best performance belongs to Frances McDormand. It's her year, and that's an incredible thing.
Will win/should win: Frances McDormand
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