Just means we are ready for a light hearted film to entertain us and take us away from some real problems in the world (USA) today with Trump the Great Divider.
Morning Glory always put a smile to my face when I watched it.
Also does help that Rachel McAdams is nice to look at.
Best picture: Moonlight (but La La land will win)
Actor in leading role: Casey Affleck
Actress in leading role: Emma Stone
Actor in supporting role: Mahershala Ali
Actress in supporting role: Naomie Harris
Animated feature film: Moana
Cinematography: La La land
Costume design: La La land
Directing: Arrival
Film editing: La La land
Original score: La La land
Original song: How far I’ll go (Moana)
Sound editing: La LA land
Sound mixing: Rogue One
Visual effects: Kubo and the two strings
Writing (adapted): Moonlight (though I’d appreciate Arrival because I like that approach to sci-fi)
Writing (original): The Lobster
The fact that the short documentary about the White Helmets has been nominated is shameful and lacks any kind of respect toward Syrian people. I’d pay ANY amount of money to send everyone involved in the making of that documentary to Aleppo, take them to a cinema and play their documentary while surrounded by locals. I’d love to see the reaction of Syrian people from Aleppo at the sight of a movie that showcases the White Helmets as heroes. Absolutely disgusting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvCcbkgC15s&lc=z12nijpitxabhv5a204celaj1yzbe5uxkxc0k
These guys did my fav song from LalaLand very well.
Very well indeed.
You know Emma Stone was super lovable in the movie. Makes me wonder whether she is more lovable then Jennifer Lawrence. And yet for some strange reason I keep thinking she kinda sorta looked like the 70s TAiwanese singer
Tsui Tai Qing
Does anyone else feel the same? She is the Jolin Tsai of the 70s, the “party girl” to the “goody goody girl” Teresa Teng
I saw Moonlight yesterday and I wasn’t really feeling it. I think it’s artistically very well-done but something was a bit off. It just fell kinda flat to me. I was also kinda surprised by how little screen time Mahershala Ali had.
I wasn’t feeling Naomie Harris either. I feel like her part could’ve been done by other actresses and the effect would be the same.
Loving, on the other hand, is just brilliant. I had tears in my eyes when Richard said “tell the judge I love my wife” and in the end when the captions showed that Mildred said “I miss him”. That is extremely rare as I never cry while watching movies. It’s such a tender piece of art. 10/10. Joel Edgerton definitely deserves a nom for this. Both him and Negga were so terrific.
Just watched Moana in English. I also want to watch the Taiwan Mandarin version, as it is dubbed by an all Aboriginal cast. I’d like to see how they interpret a Polynesian themed animation.
The one who dubbed for Maui is Matzka, who is the lead singer of a sometimes reggae band with his namesake.
I mean the dude looks just like Maui in the movie. I saw a clip where he said he injected a bit of Paiwan language into the film, and where the Rock does his Samoan Manu Siva Tau war dance, Matzka would do a Paiwan chant.
Although the plot certainly isn’t as rich as Frozen or Zootopia, the movie still has a lot of great symbolisms, and music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. I’m a sucker for anything Polynesian themed, so I really enjoyed it. Just seeing those giant Waka in action is enough to get me geeking out in my seat.
Most of the creatures are borrowed from Polynesian mythology, and some of them reminds me of Taiwanese Aboriginal mythologies. For example, the coconut armored Kakamora (Melanesia legend) is a version of the Pasta’ai (Dwarf Spirit ) legend, from their small size, agility, living in caves, being the guardian of the forest, and using poisonous blow darts. In the movie the Kakamora even meets a comical end similar to that in the Saisiyat Pasta’ai legend.
In Taiwan, the Philippines and many Austronesian culture, it’s the humans that learned and stole from the dwarf spirits. Many versions of the legends involves people stealing fire or grain from the dwarf spirits. In Melanesia the story is reversed, and now it’s the dwarf spirits that steals fire from humans. It’s interesting to see how Austronesian legends spread and evolved.
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Nice write up !
I am toying with the idea of watching 
- Fences
- Hidden figures
- Manchester on the Sea
Because they are Oscar contenders. But have heard that Fences and Manchester are somewhat limited scope movies.
That is to say they are highly focused on a few individuals and don’t have much else other then the acting by those said individuals.
Not a whole lot to “see” in other words.
I’ve just watched Hacksaw Ridge.
Holy crapload of doom, I regret missing this film at the cinema.
Hacksaw Ridge, one of the best movies I saw from 2016!
Probably the best war movie I’ve seen since Saving Private Ryan. The change of pace between the first and second half was a stunner, much like the opening sequence in SPR.
It’s clearly a Mel Gibson’s movie because the “heroic” bit goes on forever, I wish he cut that part by (at least) 5 minutes and made the action sequences longer.
Nonetheless amazing movie.
Thank you. This is why we’re buds .
That guy really does look like a less beefy Maui, lol.
Ditto on the Polynesian elements, the entire time watching it in the back of my mind were those native Formosan tribal cultures. Considering the mishmash of islander cultures Moana derived from, I wouldn’t be surprised if those disney folks didn’t search for references from those of the indigenous t-dubs people as well.
At the risk of repeating myself (can’t imagine I haven’t brought it up here yet), Moana is likely the best Disney feature musical since Tarzan, and that was 1999.
@IbisWtf @Taipei I was delightfully surprised. “Help me get one more…Help me get one more…” A soldier who carried no guns, ammunition, or explosives in a hostile battlefield, yet saved the lives of so many. What a brave hero he was.
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A really interesting story indeed. Afetr watching the movie I also spent some time reading the “real story” around that character and the battle. Holy cow, in high school I studied WWII but that specific battle was never mentioned in books, probably because in Europe there’s more emphasys on what happened in Europe. I didn’t know such a mess happened in Okinawa and surrounding islands.
Hacksaw Ridge is a wonderful movie. Battle scenes reminded me of the HBO miniseries THE PACIFIC which is also extremely well done.
Until I saw the HBO miniseries I never really thought too much about the war in the Pacific other than Pearl Harbor and the nukes, but a huge amount of troops died over a 3-4 yr period.
Same here, those are pretty much the only two events outside of Europe that I studied in high school.
Just watched Damon’s THE GREAT WALL.
Good monster movie !
The Great Wall of China is the only man made object astronauts can see from space.
Not too much longer. Another Great Wall will take shape…Trumps wall against Mexico and Mexicans.
But that is not what this movie is about.
Re: Hacksaw Ridge
[SPOILER ALERT]
One thing I didn’t understand is why didn’t the Japanese cut the rope ladder after the Americans retreated from the ridge? Why did they let it hang there, knowing full well that the Americans would use it to retake the ridge sooner or later?
Because the main character needed a a plot-armor that allowed him to do his own thing for a few hours xD
Good question. Maybe we had a small handful of holdovers between each raid, stationed at the foot of the cliff and sitting behind machine guns or RPGs, blasting whoever came close to the ridge? Eh.
Honestly can’t remotely understand anyone who hasn’t seen Hidden Figures yet. Pls do yourself a favor, you can thank me later.