andytgerm

[andytgerm]

Oscar Picks and Predictions 2019

For the, I think, third year in a row, I saw all nominated movies in all categories, a mostly rewarding task that satisfies both my completism and my artistic judgment tendencies. I also ranked all movies I’ve seen this year, features, shorts, docs, all of them, currently at 149 films. That’s here. Now for predictions. Here we go!

Best Picture:

“Black Panther” “BlacKkKlansman” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “The Favourite” “Green Book” “Roma” “A Star Is Born” “Vice”

Will Win: ROMA Should Win: ROMA Dark Horse: 2. Black Panther 3. Green Book 4. BlacKkKlansman

Lead Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice” Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born” Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate” Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Will Win: Rami Malek Should Win: Bradley Cooper Dark Horse: Bradley Cooper, I guess.

Lead Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma” Glenn Close, “The Wife” Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born” Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Will Win: Glenn Close Should Win: Melissa McCarthy Dark Horse: Olivia Colman

Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman” Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born” Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Will Win: Richard E. Grant Should Win: Richard E. Grant Dark Horse: Mahershala Ali

Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Will Win: Regina King Should Win: Regina King Dark Horse: Marina de Tavira

Director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite” Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” Adam McKay, “Vice”

Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón Should Win: Alfonso Cuarón Dark Horse: Spike Lee

Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Will Win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Should Win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Dark Horse: Isle of Dogs

Animated Short:

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine “Bao,” Domee Shi “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Will Win: Weekends Should Win: Late Afternoon Dark Horse: Bao

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Will Win: BlacKkKlansman Should Win: If Beale Street Could Talk Dark Horse: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Original Screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “Vice,” Adam McKay

Will Win: The Favourite Should Win: ROMA Dark Horse: Green Book

Cinematography:

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Will Win: ROMA Should Win: The Favourite Dark Horse: Cold War

Best Documentary Feature:

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

Will Win: RBG Should Win: Minding the Gap Dark Horse: Free Solo

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

Will Win: Period. End of Sentence. Should Win: End Game Dark Horse: A Night at the Garden

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen “Skin,” Guy Nattiv

Will Win: Marguerite Should Win: Mother Dark Horse: Fauve

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon) “Cold War” (Poland) “Never Look Away” (Germany) “Roma” (Mexico) “Shoplifters” (Japan)

Will Win: ROMA Should Win: ROMA (Luv you tho, Shoplifters and Cold War) Dark Horse: Cold War

Film Editing:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis “Vice,” Hank Corwin

Will Win: Bohemian Rhapsody Should Win: BlacKkKlansman Dark Horse: Vice

Sound Editing:

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Will Win: A Quiet Place Should Win: Black Panther Dark Horse: ROMA

Sound Mixing:

“Black Panther” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “First Man” “Roma” “A Star Is Born”

Will Win: ROMA Should Win: ROMA Dark Horse: Bohemian Rhapsody

Production Design:

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Will Win: Mary Poppins Returns Should Win: The Favourite Dark Horse: ROMA

Original Score:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Will Win: If Beale Street Could Talk Should Win: If Beale Street Could Talk Dark Horse: Isle of Dogs

Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Will Win: Shallow Should Win: Shallow (Justice for “A Cover Is Not The Book”!) Dark Horse: All The Stars

Makeup and Hair:

“Border” “Mary Queen of Scots” “Vice”

Will Win: Vice Should Win: Border Dark Horse: Border

Costume Design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Will Win: Black Panther Should Win: Mary Poppins Returns Dark Horse: The Favourite

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Infinity War” “Christopher Robin” “First Man” “Ready Player One” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

Will Win: Avengers: Infinity War Should Win: Christopher Robin Dark Horse: First Man

#Oscars #Oscar Nominations #Academy Awards #movies #predictions

[andytgerm]

Oscar Picks: The Return

OH, IT’S A WONDERFUL NIGHT FOR ANDY, ANDY ANDY, SAW THEM ALL! Billy, what are you doing here? Get off my seldom updated Tumblr! Hello again, everybody, sorry for the loss of control, I’m happy to be here to give my thoughts, feelings, impressions, and hints for happy living related to the 90th Annual Academy Awards, which air tonight at 8pm ET on ABC! I would like to brag about having managed to see everything this year. I’m really impressed with myself! If you are wondering: How would Andy rank all 59 movies which each received at least one nomination? Well, my rhetorical friend, you’re in luck, because I just hastily threw together such a list over on my Letterboxd profile, where I’ve been enjoying tracking everything I see with INSTANT JUDGEMENT, which those who know me will know is everything I’ve ever wanted in a social network. That list is here. Please don’t yell at me about my Phantom Thread placement, I’m sorry I didn’t dig it as much as you did.

 Without further ado, my fully informed picks for tonight!

Best picture: “Call Me by Your Name” “Darkest Hour” “Dunkirk” “Get Out” “Lady Bird” “Phantom Thread” “The Post” “The Shape of Water” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

If you pay any attention to the horse race aspects of this at all, you’ve probably heard that this is the MOST WIDE OPEN BEST PICTURE RACE IN MODERN HISTORY. I don’t necessarily disagree! Which is fun! The combined factors of the rapidly changing voters body demographics, the lack of a clear frontrunner narrative for everyone to react to, and everyone still getting a handle on the preferential ballot voting means this will be a nailbiter. My heart will always say Lady Bird, which I loved completely and without reservation, but I’d guess that will fall just a little low, 4th or so, on most ballots and may not make the cut. Of the three I’d be thrilled to see win (LB, The Post, Get Out), only one has a shot. I’m going to predict it, I’ve heard nothing but promising takes on it. Hell, Moonlight won last year! If that’s not a signal to shoot for the moon, I don’t know what is.

Will Win: Get Out Should Win: Lady Bird Dark Horse: 1. Dunkirk 2. Three Billboards 3. Shape of Water

Lead actor:

Timothée 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.”

My two faves here are probably the least likely to take it. Kaluuya’s doing something really subtle and special in Get Out, and really holds it together and tips the film over into being a story you want to follow, when it can sometimes feel on the edge of being a merely great essay with a strong point to make. And Washington is in a deeply weird movie, but committing like hell and is insanely big and watchable. Chalamet is solid as a character I had trouble connecting to, ditto Day-Lewis, and Oldman’s doing that accenty Oldman thing and he’s gonna win it. Will Win: Gary Oldman Should Win: Daniel Kaluuya Dark Horse: Timothée Chalamet

Lead 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”

Again, two performances I LOVE and then the rest. Saoirse and Streep isn’t just the name of the sitcom I want to already be in its 2nd syndicated run, it’s a couple of performances that complement each other well. Streep’s got so much Streepery expectations built in and she undercuts and plays against them all, and Saoirse plays with our comparative lack of baggage (I think this is the first time I’ve seen her sans accent, which helps) just melts into being an audience surrogate as someone coming into her own in the world. You maybe don’t always identify with her, but you do understand her, and that’s an incredible piece of business. Robbie hits the marks and will probably get a win in the next few years, she’s here to play. Hawkins is a technical marvel. And McDormand is certainly steady, which holds the movie together more than some of its other elements. Will Win: Frances McDormand Should Win: Saoirse Ronan Dark Horse: Saoirse Ronan

Supporting actor:

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project” Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water” Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World” Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Hey, The Florida Project was a great movie, wasn’t it? Maybe a bit hard to watch in spots, but so thoughtful and interesting. Willem, Dafriend of Good Cinema (shout out to #TheTwoFriends) is maybe not your natural first call to play a personification of decency, but I’m so glad he was top of the list for this role. That scene with the child predator is seared into my mind forever. Jenkins is my favorite part of a movie that was a bit of a challenge for me, his “speak what I sign” scene is very moving. Harrelson goes off in a lot of directions and his character does not really hold together at all. Plummer manages to not be the worst or most distracting element of that deeply mediocre movie, which is  a real, non-ironic accomplishment! Probable winner Sam Rockwell, in his moments of connection, gets at something I appreciated, but that movie does not have a clear idea of how that character does or should operate in it.

Will Win: Sam Rockwell Should Win: Willem Dafoe Dark Horse: Willem Dafoe

Supporting actress: Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound” Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread” Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird” Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Everyone talks about Laurie Metcalf at the airport, but that’s maybe my 5th or 6th favorite moment of hers in the movie. Her talking to the kids when they’re high late at night after Lady Bird misses Thanksgiving dinner! Going with Lady Bird to do their favorite activity! Washing the dishes and completely ignoring Lady Bird’s pleas for forgiveness! The look at the dressing room! Gah, what a perfect thing that movie is. I love Allison Janney, she’s always great and fun, but boy, that movie does not have a clue how to give her an arc. I thought Blige got a bit lost in Mudbound, unfortunately. Spencer felt like more a plot driver and translation device than a full character to me. And Manville feels a few beats short of a great contribution. Will Win: Laurie Metcalf Should Win: Laurie Metcalf Dark Horse Smart Money: Allison Janney

Best director: “Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan “Get Out,” Jordan Peele “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig “Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro

Personally would’ve swapped Spielberg in for Anderson or del Toro, but this is a GREAT category. Haven’t written at all about Dunkirk yet, but it’s smartly constructed and plays to Nolan’s strengths in all the best ways, this Nolan skeptic was very impressed. Peele has tapped into the zeitgeist brilliantly and is playing this in a way where I am tremendously excited to see what he does next. And Gerwig is ruthless in her storytelling, embracing her characters so warmly, but without treacle, letting them have their piece and then briskly moving on. Will Win: Guillermo del Toro Should Win: Gerwig and Peele are neck and neck here, but I’ll give Greta the edge. Dark Horse: Jordan Peele

Animated feature: “The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito “The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo “Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson “Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha “Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman

Hoo boy, there is a quality LINE in this category. Coco and The Breadwinner are great and smart and animated with tremendous artistry. And then... there’s the rest! Ferdinand is a very typical animated family movie of this era, nothing remarkable about it. The Boss Baby is deeply weird and the story is bananas. And Loving Vincent shows you why it got to be the first movie ever entirely painted with oils (the squigglyness kind of gave me a headache) and didn’t even to bother to ground it with an interesting story. Will Win: Coco Should Win: Coco Dark Horse: The Breadwinner

Animated short: “Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant “Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon “Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray “Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata “Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer

Garden Party is a total hoot. Check it out unspoiled if you can. Dear Basketball is pure garbage fluff, I guess it’s animated nicely, but it does not do anything remotely memorable. Lou is middle of the road Pixar short. Negative Space is the kind of thing where you go “Oh, that was interesting” throughout and at the end and then you don’t really think about it again. And Revolting Rhymes is a good bit of Dahl, but definitely feels like it was produced for TV.

Will Win: Garden Party Should Win: Garden Party Dark Horse: Lou

Adapted screenplay: “Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory “The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber “Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green “Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin “Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

This is a fun category! Both screenplay categories are fairly fun this year, though both have at least one clunker. Inevitable winner CMBYN has a real sense of place and time and character that is incredibly entrancing while you’re watching it. Logan carries the weight of being in such a weird place, franchise-wise, with aplomb and gives Jackman a lot of good stuff to play with. Molly’s Game certainly indulges in Sorkinisms great (Everyone Cares About And References The Crucible!) and weird (Sure, Kevin Costner). Mudbound is aiming high and often succeeding, especially once it gets going. The Disaster Artist is the real question mark of this bunch, that is a very uneven script that doesn’t seem to want to actually say much other than “That was weird, huh?” Will Win: Call Me By Your Name Should Win: Call Me By Your Name Dark Horse: Mudbound, I guess? 

Original screenplay: “The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani “Get Out,” Jordan Peele “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh

Hey, The Big Sick! Love you, glad you made it to the party! That’s a movie that lets everyone try their best, and I love it for it. Shape of Water and Three Billboards are my sticking points here, I’d say they’re both a bit unwieldy in slightly different ways. Water is definitely the better piece of writing, but I still never really fully got on board with the whimsy of it all. And for a guy who LOVES to put location names in his titles, I still am not convinced Martin McDonagh knows how to evoke a real sense of place. This leaves my love forever, Lady Bird and the story of the year, Get Out for my fave slot. I tend to side with the movie that feels bigger and messier (LB), as opposed to sharper and tighter (GO), but for some reason I’m feeling the latter was more of a writing accomplishment this year. 

Will Win: Get Out Should Win: Get Out Dark Horse: Three Billboards

Cinematography: “Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins “Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel “Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema “Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison “The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen

I never feel well equipped to talk about cinematography, but for my money th ebest images of the year were all found in Blade Runner 2049, what big colors and overwhelming visions! Shout-out to Dunkirk’s YOU ARE THERE immersion. Will Win: Blade Runner 2049 Should Win: Lade Runner 2049 Dark Horse: Dunkirk

Best documentary feature: “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman “Faces Places,” JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda “Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan “Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen “Strong Island,” Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes

Faces Places is so fun for the first 70 or 80 minutes and then has a knockout of profundity to end you with. What a well constructed documentary! Strong Island is a close runner-up in its power and storytelling panache. I can’t wait to see what subject Yance Ford will take on next. Abacus has some great characters, but feels constrained by PBS and Last Men in Aleppo is a bit of a retread of last year’s short winner, The White Helmets. The less said about Icaraus the better, although this means I’m probably going to be mad that I never acknowledged it as a possibility when it wins.

Will Win: Faces Places Should Win: Faces Places Dark Horse: Strong Island

Best documentary short subject: “Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel “Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon “Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon “Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner

These aren’t all soul-crushing for once! I was so entranced and enthralled by Heaven is a Traffic Jam, what a terrific subject (that admittedly hits a lot of my personal buttons). Heroin(e) (with the “e” in parentheses! Shout out Palooza and Mo(u)rning!) is also an incredible piece of documentary craft, the focus and weaving of the stories it zooms in on will make it a worthy winner. Edith+Eddie is effective at winning over a crowd, but I felt really alienated by how much I thought was left out. Knife Skills could use better focus. Traffic Stop is very of the moment and has a grabbing opening incident which it does not always know where to go with. Will Win: Heroin(e) Should Win: Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 Dark Horse: Traffic Stop

Best live action short film: “DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk “The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson “My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr. “The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton “Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen Perhaps the strongest shorts category this year! Eleven O’Clock is very funny, which probably makes it too lightweight to win, but I was delighted by it. DeKalb and Emmett are both great dramatizations of Important Issues, anchored by some smart filmmaking and acting choices, respectively. Watu Wote and Silent Child both suffered from “To Learn More” text-itis, where the movie tells you directly where to go to help solve the problem it depicts by the end, or at least feels like it wants to do that. Will Win: DeKalb Elementary Should Win: The Eleven O’Clock Dark Horse: My Nephew Emmett

Best foreign language film: “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile) “The Insult” (Lebanon) “Loveless” (Russia) “On Body and Soul (Hungary) “The Square” (Sweden) I LOVED The Square, but again, that’s a movie that plays directly to my interests, content-and-thematic-discussion-wise. Shoutout to that kid who hates being grounded! A Fantastic Woman is also terrific and knows exactly how to make you feel what it wants you to feel, and I was drawn into On Body and Soul slowly but effectively.  The other two were a bit overwhelming, Insult was too idea-focused and broad, Loveless was B L E A K.

Will Win: The Square Should Win: The Square Dark Horse: A Fantastic Woman

Film editing: “Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss “Dunkirk,” Lee Smith “I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel “The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory

Three. Different. Temporalities.  Will Win: The Shape of Water Should Win: Dunkirk Dark Horse: Baby Driver

Sound editing: “Baby Driver,” Julian Slater “Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green “Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King “The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood

BB8, love you forever. Will Win: Dunkirk Should Win: Dunkirk Dark Horse: The Shape of Water

Sound mixing: “Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin “Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill “Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo “The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick

(I was very underwhelmed by Baby Driver, I feel this is an appropriate place to hide this Bad Opinion) Will Win: Baby Driver Should Win: Blade Runner 2049 Dark Horse: Dunkirk

Production design: “Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer “Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola “Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer “Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis “The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau

Will be ok with this win when Shape of Water sweeps a bunch of technical awards.

Will Win: The Shape of Water Should Win: The Shape of Water Dark Horse: Blade Runner 2049

Original score: “Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer “Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood “The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell

My faves here are probably Williams and Zimmer, but I’m basic that way. Will Win: The Shape of Water Should Win: Dunkirk Dark Horse: Phantom Thread

Original song: “Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens “Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

I kind of liked the song from Marshall! That’s the kind of things you discover about yourself when you watch every nominated movie in full, even if the only thing it’s nominated for is a song that plays over some End of The Movie Exponsition Text And Closing Credits. I probably have a full Greatest Showman screed in me about what I think is great and terrible about the movie, but it’s getting late and I should have dinner before the show so, NOT TODAY! The CMBYN song is the kind of thing that is usually Not My Thing, but I did think it was nice and effective here. Will Win: “Remember Me”  Should Win: “Remember Me” Dark Horse Smart Pick: “This Is Me”

Makeup and hair: “Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick “Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard “Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten

JOWLS!

Will Win: Darkest Hour Should Win: Wonder Dark Horse: Wonder

Costume design: “Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran “Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran “Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges “The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira “Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

Fine, Phantom Thread. You can have this one and I won’t roll my eyes. Also, Victoria & Abdul is very bad and you should not watch it, FYI. Will Win: Phantom Thread Should Win: Phantom Thread Dark Horse: The Shape of Water

Visual effects: “Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick “Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,”  Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan “War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

I like how most of these use and integrate effects! This list is long! A lot of awards! I’m punchy! WINNERS ARE GREAT!

Will Win: War for the Planet of the Apes Should Win: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Dark Horse: Blade Runner 2049

#Oscars #Oscar Nominations #Academy Awards

[andytgerm]

Oscar Picks! Get Your Fresh Unique Oscar Picks Here!

TI did good this year! In terms of preparation, I mean. These picks are probably godawful, a losing combination of switching between going with my gut or my heart or my head. But, I have seen all but THREE of the nominated films (2 animated, 1 foreign language), which is, I think, very good for someone with no connections for screener access. Also, I thought it was, on the whole, a good group of nominees, in that I only wanted to die while watching, like, 3 of the movies.

So, without further ado, my mostly informed picks for tonight!

Best picture: “Arrival” “Fences” “Hacksaw Ridge” “Hell or High Water” “Hidden Figures” “La La Land” “Lion” “Manchester by the Sea” “Moonlight”

La La Land has been “controversial” since more than festival-goers saw it because it’s been the front runner for so long. But it will surprise few to learn that I think it’s great! Deeply considered and moving, and with thematic depth, plus the kind of razzmatazz I’m a complete sucker for. Frankly, I don’t see a ton of differences between it and, say, Mad Max: Fury Road in terms of craft and skill displayed, but it’s been dinged because the perception is that it is light and unserious and a rip-off or what-have-you. Or too jazzy, or maybe the wrong kind of jazzy? Anyway, it’s definitely winning, and in a line-up with only 2.5 movies I didn’t as least think were “mostly good” (Hacksaw is pretty bad, Lion is meh-nipulative, and Hidden Figures is a little obvious, but otherwise I like ‘em all!), I’m not really mad about it and probably would vote for it because it appeals to my taste so specifically.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Moonlight

Lead actor: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge” Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,” Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic” Denzel Washington, “Fences”

The most high profile competitive race, despite it being one of the weaker categories this year. The battle of the narratives is strong here, and I wonder if it’s been overblown a little bit. BUT, the competitor is who I would pick, so I’m going to lean into hope and go in that direction. Garfield is nominated for the wrong movie (you didn’t see Silence, but he was great), and he’s kind of a cartoon in Hacksaw with his VERY broad accent. Gosling’s charming, but the center of the so-called “backlash” against LLL with his jazz love. Captain Fantastic is a bad movie that buys into Viggo’s characters world-view too much to be anything but self-indulgent claptrap and also has no support anywhere else. Affleck’s got the momentum and a great performance, but Washington’s got the monologues. Both playing frustrating characters, one for talking so much without doing enough listening, the other for not communicating at all. My vote goes to the excellent August Wilson interpretation, again, due to personal taste leanings.

Will Win: Denzel Washington Should Win: Denzel Washington Dark Horse Smart Pick: Casey Affleck

Lead actress: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle” Ruth Negga, “Loving” Natalie Portman, “Jackie” Emma Stone, “La La Land” Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

GREAT category. God, so many great female lead performances this year. My personal pick is probably the sadly un-nominated Annette Benning in 20th Century Woman, who is so subtle and great and does some of the best “watching and listening” acting you’ll ever see. But Ruth Negga probably takes the subtle and unshowy slot, and she’s terrific too, so I can’t complain too much. Given this choice selection, I’d go for the probable winner, because, seriously, Emma Stone is charming and funny and deep and complicated in La La Land, plus she gets to do a big 11 o’clock number. Huppert’s probably the potential upset, she’s got momentum and gets to do a LOT of different unusual things in Elle. Portman never seemed to reach full potential, but she’s a strong center in Jackie once you get used to the big choices and latch on to the movie’s wavelength. Streep Streeps it up and does all the things you love.

Will Win: Emma Stone Should Win: Annette Benning Emma Stone Dark Horse: Isabelle Huppert

Supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water” Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea” Dev Patel, “Lion” Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

Another strong category, though the Shannon nomination for that nothingburger of a movie is regrettable (he’s at least the CORRECT supporting actor to go with). Bridges is great, turning on a dime when The Big Dramatic Thing happens at the end of that terrific movie, having kept you laughing the whole way to that moment. Patel’s fine, but his section of the movie does not fulfill the potential suggested by in the first part. Mahershala Ali is another great watching and listening performance, and his raw and simple connection with Little, especially in the scene where he explains what “faggot” means to him, is so delicately beautiful. Hedges, though, is unexpected and confounding in the best way. His character is trying his best to make the best of a bad situation, giving his all, even though he’s not grown up enough to have that be enough all the time. It’s a terrific honest and unexpected portrait of grief in a movie full of contrasting pictures, and I’m really excited to see what he does next.

Will Win: Mahershala Ali Should Win: Lucas Hedges Dark Horse: Jeff Bridges

Supporting actress: Viola Davis, “Fences” Naomie Harris, “Moonlight” Nicole Kidman, “Lion” Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures” Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

Octavia would not be my Hidden Figures pick (how about that Janelle Monae, huh?) but she does have that killer line in that great scene with Kirsten Dunst. Kidman I sadly found forgettable (but check out Big Little Lies on HBO, you guys). Naomie Harris gets the most recognizable/predictable arc in Moonlight, but she sells the hell out of it. And doing it in three days!? That’s incredible. Michelle has the big scene that’s the closest we get to catharsis in Manchester, and is maybe doing the best job of “Supporting” in a way that many of these other performances aren’t. But holy hell does Viola deliver everything you would want her to in that part. I have no beef with her placement here, and she gives great watching/listening, great monologuing, and has the best scene of the movie (that night time phone call) centered on her. Gosh it’ll be great to see her win.

Will Win: Viola Davis Should Win: Viola Davis Dark Horse: Michelle Williams, I guess, but c’mon.

Best director: “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle “Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan “Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve

Oh, hey, I haven’t had the chance to say anything about it yet, but Arrival is really great and full of ideas and feelings, and to see it nominated here is great! But this is a Jenkins/Chazelle race, and La La Land fever is definitely strong within the Academy.

Will Win: Damien Chazelle Should Win: Really, I’d be glad do see anyone but Gibson, but I guess I’d go with Denis Villeneuve in the interest of spreading the wealth? Dark Horse: Barry Jenkins

Animated feature: “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner “Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli “The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki “Zootopia,” Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer

This is one of my “I haven’t seen them all categories” which is too bad because I like seeing animated films a bunch, but Zucchini and Red Turtle have not made it to my neck of the woods yet. I liked Zootopia a lot, though I found its second half less engaging on second viewing, and I think the villain is telegraphed a bit too heavily. But that beginning, and getting to know the world, plus its thematic depth will make it a worthy winner. Kubo is GREAT and fun and moving, perhaps a bit let down by its vocal cast, but otherwise gives you everything you could want in an animated film. But Moana is a Disney musical, and if you haven’t figured it out already, I’m a sucker for those (they make me cry just by, like, structure? Like, opening establishing musical numbers emotionally move me to tears just because they exist?). And it’s one that doesn’t forget it’s a musical halfway through.

Will Win: Zootopia Should Win: Moana Dark Horse: Kubo and the Two Strings

Animated short: “Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev “Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj “Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller “Pearl,” Patrick Osborne “Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

This crop was just ok this year, I thought, though seeking out the shorts is always one of my favorite parts of Oscar season. Borrowed Time was my surprise favorite, and is heftier than you think it’s going to be. Pear Cider is... a lot, and not always in a good way, but the style is good. Blind Vaysha’s a bit much, but has got a great Caroline Dhavernas voice-over. Piper’s level of detail is jaw-dropping. And Pearl’s got tech innovations and well-calibrated sentimentality, so that gives it the edge for me.

Will Win: Pearl Should Win: Borrowed Time Dark Horse: Piper

Adapted screenplay: “Arrival,” Eric Heisserer “Fences,” August Wilson “Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi “Lion,” Luke Davies “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney

I mean, am I gonna not give a theoretical award to August Wilson? Well, predictions-wise, yes, but god that script is so deep and fascinating. This is an easy area for them to recognize the great achievement of Moonlight, and it is certainly a win I can get behind, three well-told connected stories is no easy feat.

Will Win: Moonlight Should Win: Fences Dark Horse: Arrival

Original screenplay: “20th Century Women,” Mike Mills “Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle “The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan

20th Century Women! That’s a hell of a script, and it moves so beautifully and delicately. What a wonder of a miracle that movie is! The Lobster is prickly and the dialogue is very mannered, but the conceptual originality is undeniable. Hell or High Water has a lot more on its mind than you go in expecting, and was a huge surprise favorite for me, with some terrific duet scenes (Pine and his kid! Pine and Bridges!) and wonderful cameo sized characters (Texans with guns! Waitresses!). In hopes of a “spread the wealth” mentality, I’m predicting Manchester, though, as it’s not favored much elsewhere, and it certainly is written with depth and insight.

Will Win: Manchester by the Sea Should Win: 20th Century Women Dark Horse Smart Pick: La La Land

Cinematography: “Arrival,” Bradford Young “La La Land,” Linus Sandgren “Lion,” Greig Fraser “Moonlight,” James Laxton “Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto

These are all great!

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Dark Horse: Moonlight

Best documentary feature: “13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo “I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck “Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman “O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow

Many of these are also great! And the three that are centered on the African American experience are a nice trilogy together. But, c’mon, OJ is a TV miniseries.

Will Win: O.J.: Made in America Should Win: I Am Not Your Negro Dark Horse: 13th

Best documentary short subject: “4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki “Extremis,” Dan Krauss “Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen “Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis “The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Boy, this is an emotional killer of a category. After seeing all 5 in one night on the big screen, I tweeted “Saw all the Oscar doc shorts tonight, and they were crushing, but if seeing all of any 1 category would make one a better person, that's it.“ and I stand by that. Illuminating and tough, a great group of shorts.

Will Win: The White Helmets Should Win: Watani: My Homeland Dark Horse: Extremis

Best live action short film: “Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi “La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff “Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson “Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy “Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez

This was definitely the weakest shorts category. I enthusiastically liked one of them (Sing) and thought another one was fun (Timecode), but the rest I found inaccessible (Ennemis Interieurs) or verging on sappy (La Femme/Silent Nights). My cynical self thought Silent Nights (sentimental, but deals with Important Social Issues) would win the moment I saw it, though I have heard of no one who is a fan. Still gonna guess it, so I can be pleasantly surprised when it loses.

Will Win: Silent Nights Should Win: Sing Dark Horse: Ennemis Interiurs

Best foreign language film: “A Man Called Ove,” Sweden “Land of Mine,” Denmark “Tanna,” Australia “The Salesman,” Iran “Toni Erdmann,” Germany

I was blown away and cannot stop thinking about The Salesman. That movies got staying power, plus it received extra attention with the awful Travel Ban, so that makes it an easy prediction. I haven’t seen Land of Mine. Tanna was pretty and simple and unique, but didn’t really hold together upon reflection. Ove is pitched right to the older sentimental voter, and I guess it’s a pretty ok version of that story. Toni Erdmann’s got the cool film fan vote, and it had like 3 of my deepest, most gut-busting laughs of the crop, but it took a long time for me to get on board with it.

Will Win: The Salesman Should Win: The Salesman Dark Horse: Toni Erdmann

Film editing: “Arrival,” Joe Walker “Hacksaw Ridge,” John Gilbert “Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts “La La Land,” Tom Cross “Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Another easy area for La La Land to rack up a sweep, and it’s certainly got rhythm and pizzazz going for it. Moonlight’s got some terrific wordless sequences though, and can hold a long shot with the best of them.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Dark Horse: Moonlight

Sound editing: “Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare “Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli “Hacksaw Ridge,” Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright “La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan “Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Arrival made up all those alien noises, which were really essential to you buying into the movie. Deepwater Horizon was a better watch than I expected, and it certainly explores all the different ways an oil rig can blow up with sound. Sully’s got those birds. Don’t forget the birds. But this is a big war movie category, and the most high profile one of the night will *sigh* probably win here.

Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge Should Win: Arrival Dark Horse: La La Land (sweeps can be powerful, you guys)

Sound mixing: “Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye “Hacksaw Ridge,” Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace “La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth

I watched Michael Bay’s Benghazi movie and all I got was vague credibility when predicting this lousy Oscars category (it was bad). Musicals do well here, though I think La La Land is weaker than many think here because a lot of folks complain that they couldn’t understand the lyrics (I thought the mixing was fine, but they maybe should have chosen singers with more powerful voices?).

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Arrival Dark Horse: Hacksaw Ridge

Production design: “Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock “Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh “La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco “Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena

Sweepin’ gonna sweep. How bout Hail, Caesar!, tho?

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Hail, Caesar! Dark Horse: Arrival

Original score: “Jackie,” Mica Levi “La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz “Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka “Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell “Passengers,” Thomas Newman

Original musical! I’ve been humming and feeling the great instrumental themes form La La Land since I saw it.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Jackie

Original song: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster “City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting “How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” — Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

This is a heartbreaker category, where is Popstar? Where is Swiss Army Man? Where is Sing Street? Why those La La Land songs? I’ve gotta go with my sort-of Twitter buddy Lin Manuel Miranda (he followed me for a little while, OK? Get off my back!), even if he’s many not who most are predicting. Plus, if Pasek and Paul lap him and EGOT in a year, I’ll be pissed at how rude that is.

Will Win: “How Far I’ll Go” Should Win: “How Far I’ll Go” (really for the second reprise, but it’s good at first too!) Dark Horse: “City of Stars” (though Audition is better, and Someone in the Crowd’s the best song in the movie)

Makeup and hair: “A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson “Star Trek Beyond,” Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo “Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson

Realistic old person makeup is hard to bet against, and I really don’t want to live in the Oscar Winner Suicide Squad world. Star Trek’s got really good work in this category, too, though.

Will Win: A Man Called Ove Should Win: Star Trek Beyond Dark Horse: Star Trek Beyond

Costume design: “Allied,” Joanna Johnston “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Colleen Atwood “Florence Foster Jenkins,” Consolata Boyle “Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine “La La Land,” Mary Zophres

This is far from my best/most knowledgable category, but I’ll be happy if contemporary memorable designs from La La Land get it as expected.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Jackie

Visual effects: “Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton “Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould “The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould

Did you see all those animals in the Jungle Book? And the note at the end about how it was filmed in California? That was really cool. Doctor Strange was great fun in this area too. But Kubo had a special features real showcasing this work during the credits, so it moves up in the running for me.

Will Win: The Jungle Book Should Win: The Jungle Book Dark Horse: Kubo and the Two Strings

#Oscars #Predictions #Oscar Nominations #Academy Awards

[andytgerm]

What I Consumed Today: 6/17

I am currently unemployed and prospects are not at their strongest, so most of my time is currently spent watching, reading and listening to various cultural items. In an effort to feel like that’s not wasting my time, I thought it might be helpful for me to get in the habit of writing, just a little, about everything I see and therefore create productivity where previously there was none! Whether I will have the discipline to keep this up remains to be seen, but for now, here is WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY for Friday, June 17th, 2016!

TV:

Orange is the New Black (Season 4, Episode 1) “Work That Body For Me”

Wow, OITNB has a lot of characters who I struggle to remember the names and story status of! Picking up right where we left off is an interesting idea for a Netflix series, where I find myself struggling to remember what happened in the last batch a lot more than for a non “Full Season Drop” series. I had completely forgotten about what was happening with Alex, so that in particular took a lot of adjustment, and while I appreciated seeing how she was in significantly over her head, I’m not sure I care much about her, still. She’s always been the weakest point of the series for me, and while I think keeping her away from Piper is probably a good move, I’m skeptical of her building a murder conspiracy all year. I’m VERY excited about this Judy King story, Blair Brown is terrific and she’s already got great chemistry all around. Pouseey’s reaction was terrific. I found the episode a promising start, much better than last year’s premiere, and am excited to see where we go with the overcrowding concept.

Casual (Season 2, Episode 3) “Such Good Friends”

Casual is such a quiet show and I’m never sure how seriously to take it, but I really enjoyed the arc of this episode. Laura’s arc last season was a bit of a drag, and my educational background makes most shows that tackle a school system a bit of a headache for me (ahem ahem Togetherness and Parenthood), which didn’t help their depiction of public school in episode 1, but I didn’t find the homeschooling group too cartoonish to be beyond understanding, and I liked seeing Laura figure out that it might be a good idea to connect with some peers. Valerie’s struggle towards adult friendship is great, and Michaela Watkins is great at making it seem like she knows how bad she’s doing trying to connect with someone else, but she can’t stop. The bathroom scene with Jennifer was cringey and perfect, and really helped the payoff at the bar land. Alex is probably the funniest character on the show, and he now is interacting with Vincent Kartheiser, so I’m excited to see where things go for him as well

The Interestings (Season 1, Episode 1) “Pilot”

I read this book a little over a year ago, and found myself having forgotten a lot of the key details, though I enjoyed it very much in this new adaptation that Amazon is potentially taking to series. Good casting all around, especially Krumholtz and Ambrose, it’s a nice group of actors who I would be intrigued to see go through iterations of being on good or bad terms with each other. The time jumping is nicely done in the Pilot, though it does give me a slight bit of pause when thinking about how it might work as a long term series. Do we keep discovering new things in the past once we’ve exhausted the novel’s story and are onto seasons 2 and beyond? In any case I hope it gets picked up, some nice scoring work by Mark Mothersbaugh and surprisingly strong wig work are also strengths worth celebrating. Also: Cool shots with mirrors. I’m a sucker for staging scenes so that some of what you see is a reflection in a mirror.

Orange is the New Black (Season 4, Episode 2) “Power Suit”

More good stuff here, Maria’s backstory was quite strong, I thought, and Piper’s uneasy relationship with her own power is delightful. Red’s sleeplessness perhaps leaned a little on the mugging side of things, there were a LOT of shots of her looking exasperated in her bunk, but I find spending time with that character a joy, so it’s easily forgiven. The screenshots from future episodes on the Netflix interface seem to indicate that the new guard, Piscatella, is going to have a pretty large role in this season, and I kind of marvel at how they are able to find new antagonists every year. Also: Stephanie J. Block!

Podcasts:

Pop Culture Happy Hour “O.J.: Made In America and a Television Quiz”

Good, wide-ranging discussion about the terrific ESPN (2 words I never thought I’d put in proximity to each other) documentary on O.J. Simpson, though of course when discussing a documentary that runs nearly 8 hours, you’re not going to be able to come near to discussing everything. The quiz is also terrific, I was hoping Emily’s Reasons Why Not would come up, and was delighted to hear it in Q2.

Vox’s The Weeds “Guns, Brexit, and Free Condoms”

The gun conversation was perhaps a bit too glib for my taste, though that is kind of the house style of the podcast. I was much more into the speculation of how everyone might react to the possible Brexit, and the plea to teenagers to be aware of the effectiveness of condoms as birth control vs. their effectiveness in STD prevention.

Extra Hot Great Minis “Hamm it Up, or HAMM!”

Hearing about more career ideas for Jon Hamm is never a bad thing. And a great closing line from Joe Reid.

Comedy Bang! Bang! “Get Donk’d”

Rhys Darby is a favorite of mine, I find him inherently hilarious, so he’s great and very game the whole podcast long, which is a joy to hear. I confess I do not recall the original appearance of Mary Holland’s The Donk, but her interesting mix of different quirks were very charming. Certainly not a classic, but nice, solid CBB.

Various YouTube Videos (Tony numbers, Oscar production numbers, Seth Meyers Late Night clips)

These are very relaxing! It’s great that we had a good Tonys this year, I’m sure I’ll be revisiting many of the performances for years to come.

[andytgerm]

It's me!

Apprenticeship: Education administration

Hometown: Rochester, NY

College: New York University

Favorite Play: I usually hem and haw and then say Our Town

Favorite Musical: I usually hem and haw and then say Gypsy

Interests: TV (sitcoms in particular), movies, comedy

Favorite...

[andytgerm]

TV Top 10 of 2013!

This has been a fairly uniformly excellent year for television. And I should know, I've been able to watch a lot of it. Like, a lot a lot of it. Like, I've watched all existing episodes of Sean Saves the World AND The Millers a lot of it. I don't really recommend either of those, by the way.  But, as many write ups by professional television critics will tell you, there were many wonderful new television shows this year, in addition to some heartbreakers in what we lost (whether or not that loss was voluntary). And some shows that were able to demonstrate that you'll never know when exactly a show will find its groove, so that's why you must keep watching anything with a glimmer of promise forever until it dies, because god forbid you miss something.

Anyhoo . . . I've never done a top 10 before, especially formally like this, but I'm fairly comfortable with the following ranking as a good mix of what made an impact on me over the past 12 months. Some I was beating the drum for long before the year began, others I just finished getting caught up with this afternoon. But they all made me feel things this year, to put it extremely eloquently, and that's why I want to celebrate them. Without further ado:

Honorable mentions go to: The Daily Show, especially the John Oliver months for proving what Community fans and Buglers alike already knew, that John Oliver is freaking hilarious; The Colbert Report for being so consistently amazing that it's easy to take it for granted when its business as usual and only celebrate it when something weird happens, like whatever went on with Daft Punk in the middle of the summer; The Middle for having emotional stories that I'm surprisingly invested in and for being unafraid to take those moments; Sleepy Hollow for incredible effects work paired with a surprisingly entertaining formula; and Elementary for the unsung performance of Johnny Lee Miller in particular and for consistently grappling with interesting themes above and beyond the case of the week work.

Dishonorable mention goes to: SMASH, which I wanted to love so much, and which had some deep goodness peeking around so much bad that I was even more frustrated than I would've been if it were all terrible.

10. Top of the Lake

This Sundance miniseries from Jane Campion, Gerard Lee and Garth Davis was incredibly tight, atmospheric, and featured Elisabeth Moss giving an amazing tour-de-force performance that was very far in attitude, activity and accent from my beloved Peggy Olson. The gorgeous New Zealand visuals and the well paced central mystery contributed greatly to what was one of the most interesting and surprising shows of the year, with lots of really interesting stuff on the margins. That Campion and company were able to create such a world in 7 episodes was really something to behold.

9. Hannibal

I am not an audience member in Hannibal's wheelhouse, necessarily. I'm not a big horror viewer, and I often have trouble letting myself engage with the genre on anything other than an intellectual level. Well, Bryan Fuller proves yet again that there's no subject matter he can't apply a unique tone to and make for fascinating viewing. Hannibal was beautiful, and knew that a serial killer cannibal named Hannibal was, on some level, a ridiculous concept and so elevated the entire proceeding into some kind of glorious piece of high art that was just interesting to look at, listen to and get lost in, daring you to ask it why it wasn't realistic and then reveling in the fact that it was going for something greater than that. It even filled in some of the Fringe shaped holes in my heart after that departed on a somewhat weaker note than one might hope for. I applaud the commitment from everyone involved, there's no show on TV quite like it and I can't wait to let the next season wash over me.

8. Breaking Bad

I have liked Breaking Bad just fine for most of its run, though my feelings of exhilaration turned into ones of disgust towards Walt and many of the characters towards the end. So going into these last 8 episodes, I was feeling pretty ready for it to be over, I wanted Skylar to be free, I wanted Jesse to find wellness, but most of all I wanted Walt to be punished. And I felt, going in, that I would pretty much get what I wanted, as the show has seemed to be heading in that kind of a direction for some time now. Well, for most of the final episodes, I did get what I wanted, and even though I felt the finale blinked a little and was a minor disappointment, I never saw Breaking Bad stray from itself. This was an incredibly consistent show that I've never had resonate particularly deeply, but it ended beautifully, for the most part, with some of the best direction and acting on TV and with a strong sense of what it was and what it did well. I'm sure it will be viewed and discussed for many years, and that's exactly how it should be.

7. Enlightened

To confess, Enlightened is the series referenced above that I just finished earlier today, having inhaled the 2 brief seasons over the past 3 days, and so my processing of it is obviously not complete. The 2nd season was plottier than the first, with a surprisingly effective move towards fleshing out even more of the characters in a show that was clearly built around an incredible central protagonist. Laura Dern showed an incredible amount of commitment to playing Amy exactly as she was, a difficult person who is trying to convince herself she is doing right, and who sometimes actually is. And most of all, Enlightened built some beautiful relationships and conflicts, realizing that seeing people trying to do their best to get through the day and still think of themselves as good can be just as heart wrenching as any violent character death. What an incredibly needed show.

6. Bob's Burgers

Bob's Burgers makes me laugh. A lot. There's not a dud character in the thing, the plots are inspired, the voice acting is so spot on, and nearly every episode has an original song, so obviously I'm sold. And the thing about Bob's is that it's tone is so infectious, the talent assembled so strong, that I laugh loudly at things that I would find mildly amusing at best in other circumstances. I love so much about this show, and I'm willing to go with almost anything it throws at me, which is a sign of a good foundation. I really hope we have a lot more Bob's in the future.

5. Mad Men

Mad Men has been my favorite prestigey cable drama for a long time now. No other show has such a wide range of deeply thought out and interesting characters that I never know who my favorite will be by the end of the next episode. This year admittedly started slow, but almost every episode has something memorable to recommend in it, including the most interesting Betty has been in several seasons, showing the surprising amount of wisdom she's acquired, the rise of Sally Draper as a totally messed up yet strangely powerful adolescent, and Pete not being totally unsympathetic all the time. And that ending image, of Sally seeing Don with new eyes and something falling into place for her, is still with me months on, bringing tears to my eyes as I type this. And this isn't even mentioning some of the best work Jon Hamm has ever done. Yes, Mad Men was as interesting as ever, and I'm very much looking forward to the last 14 hours.

4. Bunheads

Ah, Bunheads, you were too good for the world. I mean, really, who would've though a show staring one of the most magnetic performers on the planet, Sutton Foster, that let her dance, sing and tell incredibly dense jokes would be able to connect with an audience? And that's not even mentioning the characters the title referred to, who were fleshed out in the 8 episodes from this year and played by 4 incredibly talented performers who rose to the occasion whenever needed, even if the references they were making were well beyond their years. This was a show where second chances and belting weren't necessarily all that different (what a perfect relationship), and was able to pull it off while wearing toe shoes without breaking a sweat. Amy Sherman-Palladino's series sadly ended on a note of Ginny dealing with heartbreak, but perhaps that's appropriate to match the heartbreak the fans of the show felt after it's drawn-out cancellation. Maybe next time we'll win.

3. 30 Rock

By contrast, 30 Rock went out on its own terms and boy did it deliver, continuing it's singular commitment to the beauty of jokes. I've never been one to think of the show as having gone through any creative rough patches, I'm pretty sure every single episode has at least one surprising laugh in it, so I was sad to be losing one of my favorite shows of all time as we came to the end. 30 Rock may have only aired 5 half hours in the 2013, but they were the right half hours, as hilarious and inspired as ever, while briefly allowing room for some pathos before doubling back and making fun of our need for pathos. The last episode in particular is dizzingly funny the whole way through, slowing down only to deliver a perfectly written and performed ode to non-romantic love (!) intercut with Jane Krakowski singing (!!) a hilarious song made up largely of nonsense words (!!!) that is still one of the most moving moments of television of the year (!!!!). And so 30 Rock was able to have its cake, eat it too, point out how delicious and good looking the cake was and still leave you wanting more. I'll miss it so.

2. Orange Is the New Black

I must admit I would not be tremendously surprised to find that Orange Is the New Black has gone off the rails at some point in the future of the show's run. The show balances so much in the span of minutes and scenes that it hardly seems sustainable in the long run. But the season we have so far was something to behold. Funny and moving and intellectually challenging within single scenes, and so memorable and quotable, all while developing one of the widest and most talented ensembles in television. The confidence with which this show changed the TV landscape was worth rejoicing over. I'm hard pressed to think of a more memorable scene than Taystee and Poussey's impression of white people, unless I think about Yoga Jones's heartbreaking monologue about why she's in prison, unless I think about he jaw-dropping moment when Larry went on the radio to tell the stories that were not his to tell and on and on. I'm already excited to go back and revisit these stories in the lead up to the next batch.

1. The Good Wife

I know, that a CBS semi-procedural in it's 5th season is the best show on television is as big a surprise to me as it is to you. But The Good Wife is able to be so many things at once, utilizing the best casting on television with some of the most surprising supporting players and a willingness to take on anything to such great effect. There's no show on TV that made me talk to my television more. The Good Wife is proving that there's no need to be afraid of shaking up the status quo on a show and blowing everything up, so long as you have the confidence and commitment to recognize what works and to run with it to discover something new. And most of all, The Good Wife is doing what television does best, by having a say on everything. There's no topic that feels off limits, no storyline I wouldn't be excited to see a "Good Wife" take on (well, maybe not another Kalinda love story), they're using the endless (or at least "no end in sight") nature of TV to build a world view and create something that demonstrates so many aspects of how we live now and reflects our world back at us in all its complicated messy glory. There are scenes that echo deeply with long dormant backstory and sequences that feel inevitable and surprising all at the same time. That this is able to happen to a show over the course of the year, a show in its 5th season, no less, is cause to rejoice. TV is so good now you guys. Let's go watch some.

#top ten #tv #television #orange is the new black #30 rock #bunheads #mad men #bob's burgers #enlightened #Breaking Bad #hannibal #top of the lake #the daily show #the colbert report #the middle #sleepy hollow #elementary #SMASH

[andytgerm]

If I Wrote Breaking Bad

I'm finishing up a rewatch of Breaking Bad, just one episode left to go for tomorrow, and I'm having a lot of thoughts about what I personally think would make for a satisfying final season that feels of a piece with the rest of the series. Now, I'm just a humble guy who watches so much TV that he has to rewatch 50+ episodes of something he's already seen to prep for its final season, so you know, I would by no means call myself and expert or the final authority on the matter, and I trust that Vince Gilligan's creative team have probably put a million times more thought into the series than I have, so they can do whatever they want with the end. But I DO have a degree in Educational Theatre with minor in Dramatic Literature and that did include a whole series of classes where I analyzed dramatic text, so I feel like I have at least SOME level of expertise to draw on. Otherwise, how could I sleep at night? Not very well! That's for sure!

There have been a lot of other things written about the series as we come to a final 8, and I would like to recommend this excellent Monkey See piece by Linda Holmes which is probably my favorite thing I've read and comes closest to how I analyze the series in my head when I watch it. Also, there was a pretty nifty Charlie Rose interview with Cranston, Paul, Gunn and Gilligan that I'd recommend you checking out, mostly because I agree with Vince Gilligan on when Walter turned despicable and I like the validation.

Without further ado, my 8 (serious to silly) thoughts for the final 8 episodes. . .

Walter White must come to terms with his true motives. He's not doing this for his family. It's been pretty clear that he hasn't been doing it for them for some time. He's had outs as early as Season 1. It's been clear the Breaking Bad universe has been gearing up for Walt to be punished in some way (see next point), and I think an important part of that is making him see how much of a horrible monster he's become. Possibly, he'll lose some of them (his family, I mean) or deem them a worthy sacrifice for the sake of his empire.

Walt should probably lose everything. That promo that's been going around with Bryan Cranston reciting "Ozymandias" has the right idea. Walter's pursuit of an empire at the cost of his humanity, his effort to be a great man while failing to for a single second examine what being a great man means, has lead to him becoming a true monster, and the justice I crave as an audience member is for all of Walter's struggles to have been for naught, for him to be left as a nobody and for him to have to wrestle with that fact. And when I say everything, I mean his family, his reputation, Jesse, everything. Leave him the pathetic being that he has become, and with knowledge of how horrible he is, and I'll think of it as a happy ending.

Jesse must somehow make Walt see him as a whole person and not an object for him to manipulate and control. I can think of no conversation depicted between Walt and Jesse where Walt has not been condescending and manipulative towards Jesse. It's made me nearly sick to my stomach at times, because Jesse's been so easily corrupted, but still has such a conscience. Nothing would satisfy me more than to see Jesse force Walt to see him as his own person. It's the only way I can see for Jesse to be able to move forward, to leave this behind and find peace. I would imagine this will happen, and it will be tied to Jesse's discovery of Walt's action with Brock and his inaction with Jane, which I know will absolutely destroy Jesse, but I think it'll be the push he needs to break away and show Walt how horrible he's been to him all this time. And y'know, it'd be pretty nice if he found some peace. Dude's been through a lot.

A pay-off for Chekhov's Ricin. The ricin has been in play since early season 2, and we've never actually seen it in action. So, y'know, someone should probably get ricined, and if I were a betting man I'd say Walt will probably use it on his family by accident or something.

Skyler does the right thing and plays a role in Walt's downfall, or pays the price for not doing so. Skyler's such a fascinating character to me, and some of my very favorite stuff the show has ever done is some of her early season 3 material where she is trying so hard to do the right thing and get Walt out of her life, but she can't bring herself to go all in and tell the police. The most recently concluded half-season had one standout showcase for Skyler that really brought to light how powerless she feels, and what she's able to do despite feeling that lack of power. So I think, ideally, it's about time for her to gain some power. I wouldn't be surprised if it backfired on her, if she found her way out and Walt pulled one last big victory out over her, but, really having had those scenes where she's with the lawyer who urges her to get out stick with me, I think we're nearing an opportunity for her to show how she's changed and take on the monster in her own bed.

Big events happening near a pool. This is kind of a symbolic one, but Breaking Bad's fascination with pools has really stood out with me. There's Walt forcing Junior to drink way too much tequila at that party poolside, Walt starting to burn all his money and then throwing it in the water to put it out, there's the plane crash flashforwards from season 2, all the material with Gus meeting with Don Eladio from the Cartel (the death of his partner and his later revenge), and finally Skyler's haunting moment where she stages a breakdown to get the kids out of the house. Big events happen near artificial bodies of water on this show, and the idea of building gigantic tanks to hold water in the middle of the desert definitely has some thematic play throughout the series. So, if we're coming towards the end and it's all taking place in the White's back yard and we see another body floating, don't say I didn't warn ya.

Hank and Marie finally get to DC. Hanks seems to be set up for a big win, (and thank goodness for that, which is definitely something I never thought I'd say after watching the first few episodes of the show. They way they've built him up to be a terrific, if very flawed, individual who's struggling with his/society's concept of masculinity is one of my favorite long-term elements of the series) and one would think he'll be ready to leave all this horrible stuff behind in some way by the end of it all. We've seen that office life doesn't exactly suit him, but I think that he can find success in some way that satisfies him AND takes him out of direct danger. And maybe Marie finds works at the Smithsonian, where she can deal with as many objects as she wants and doesn't feel the need to act out and take them home with her at the end of the day?

Walt Jr. and Holly (if they survive) open a Denny's franchise where he can make and eat as many pancakes as he wants. I can see no greater way to pay-off the long running Denny's AND Walt Jr. breakfast motifs than the two combining as the next generation gets away from their horrible roots and contents themselves with making cheap and satisfying breakfast food all the time.

#breaking bad #final season #season premiere #predictions #analysis #walter white #skyler white #jesse pinkman #hank schrader #marie schrader #walter jr #holly #ricin #swimming pool

[andytgerm]

On Valuing Ambition

Even the rest of the Marvel movies I tended to see by accident. It wasn't until The Avengers came out, and everything was overlapping in weird and wondrous ways that I really started to pay attention. Because there's something about a big sprawling messy universe that appeals to me on a base level. It's not even really about wanting to see many of these characters interacting (although I think the casting of the main heroes has been very strong throughout), but Hollywood really going for it, even in a way that's entirely designed to make enough money to spread a single layer of currency over the continent, makes me want to show up like the fool that I am and contribute my $10.

And it's not like I'm a huge continuity nerd. I think the way the internet deals with plot holes is tremendously stupid. I couldn't care less if they miscount the days in the timeline or rely on feelings to carry the viewer through to the next set-piece. I like noticing that stuff sometimes, sure, but it doesn't ruin the experience for me.

No, I think the idea of something being all-encompassing, something representing a world-view that actually has to reflect a huge portion of the world just through its need to fill volume, is a great opportunity for me to walk around in some creative person's head for a little while. I've loved The Simpsons since middle school because it had something to say about everything and I could make connections to the world that way. To this day, I'm not anxious for it to get cancelled, because I want to see what The Simpsons has to say about everything that become culturally significant. I'm enormously tempted to watch any television series that has a tied in spinoff universe, whether it's an X-Files sci-fi conspiracy of crazy happenings, or an ever expanding world of misfits and absurd personalities tied together through successful Sitcom spinoffs. The more to consume, the better, because I'll have a better idea of what they think of everything.

This value that I have combined with my insane need for completism can certainly cause problems (Lord help me if I ever get started on Star Trek, because I'll have to see it ALL, and I'd probably be better off just taking a year off or something to power through), but the way a giant framework can allow for a break-down examination of the smallest piece kind of comforts me in a way, because it provides the illusion that the real world might be kind of like that. That there might be some giant Executive Producer somewhere making sure everything is covered in service of the big picture. I can't wait to see what happens when we all cross over.

#marvel #iron man #the avengers #franchises #movies #tv

[andytgerm]

Get Your OWN Beloved Cult Series

So, last evening I began my Arrested Development rewatch, in preparation for the premiere of the Netflix-ified 4th season on May 26th, when they'll dump 15 brand new half hours that are supposed to lead up to a movie that there's currently no deal for. I'm having a hard time getting very excited for this season, despite the posting of a pretty funny clip from the new batch, because this sort of thing may have too much pressure, and it's one of those "Can they recapture the magic?!?" questions that often ends up having an answer of "No, not really." Which is fine, I'll watch them pretty quickly after they're posted, no doubt form an opinion or have one implanted on me once I read some of the critical response, and my life will go forward with an extra 15 episodes of Arrested Development in it.

But there are many other people who are VERY excited for the new season. And this keeps bugging me. For very petty reasons.

It should be pointed out that Arrested Development premiered when I was in 8th Grade, so I was all of 13 (the same age as George Michael, and based on my experience in 3 community center/middle school musicals, I of course arrogantly believed I would have played the part WAY better than Michael Cera). I had received a computer for my birthday the previous December, and I was just beginning to really dive in to the wonderful world of fan culture on the internet. So, as I got into AD, I went ALL IN. It was my desktop background. I posted on the official message boards on the Fox website (I'd gather upcoming episode loglines from the website of my local FOX affiliate and post them in excitement and in the hopes of starting discussion), and when that wasn't enough, I became fairly active on the fan website The OP, especially in their forums. (Most embarrassingly, my 15 year old, SUPER-straight-arrow self posted on the "Feedback to/from the Moderators" thread asking what their policy on "swears" was, having likely been offended elsewhere on the site. Gah, may whatever I post on here never be as mortifying to my older self as THAT, please.)

So the online community, to a loner of a middle/high schooler who cheerfully shrugged off any attempts of peers who were trying to make real friends with me, was a pretty big deal. I was in a super special club full of people who "got it," that this show was the wave of the future. I discovered who critics and TV reporters were, saw discussions that led to one of the earlier "send a bunch of stuff to the network so they don't cancel a favorite low-rated show" campaigns (I believe it was stress bananas?), reported back on how it looked like DVDs were selling at my local Barnes & Noble, and followed every rumor of who was interested in picking up the show if Fox dropped the ball and cancelled it. This, just as much as the content of the show itself, was what I loved about Arrested Development. And when that world started to manifest itself on the show a little bit, through references to some of the critics whom I'd read champion the show or inside jokes about the way FOX treated them, I'd get really happy and fall in love a little bit more. It was a vicious cycle. Eventually when the show made story out of ALL the buzz in the "we see there, writing on the wall!" episode "S.O.B.s," I just about died of joy that an episode could be so directly designed for my brain. This was a show that was probably, for a little while, the primary lens through which I viewed big chunks of the world. And then it ended after 53 episodes.

I was very sad at its cancellation. But I got over it. I had the DVDs. There were other shows that clung to a little piece of my soul (Hello, LOST! Oh, didn't see you there, Community!) and I grew up and moved on. Sure, I'd hear occasional talk of a movie, and I'd notice that more people in comments sections were bemoaning AD's fate than when it first aired, and they were hoping that we'd get to visit the Bluths again.

And then it actually happened.

So now I'm faced with this dilemma, because I'm certainly not the same person I was when I first connected with the show, and no matter how good the new episodes are, I'm not going to experience them in the same way as I did in the original run. But there are all these people getting very excited about it, and a little self-centered jerky part of me wants to yell at them about "WHERE WERE YOU BACK IN THE AUGHTS?" and how these Johnny Come-Latelys haven't EARNED more AD in the way that I have. So I kind of have to figure out how to deal with that.

It's gonna be interesting, for sure. And I'm probably gonna shut up about it from now on and just get back to my rewatch and marvel at the fact that I had to have missed out on at least a third of the dirtier jokes when the show was in its first run (see straight-arrow note above). But at least I'll have memories of seeing "S.O.B.s" broadcast for the first time. That one's for me.

#Arrested Development

[andytgerm]

Salutations

I was watching a DVD and working on some thoughts to tweet out tonight and it was turning into a series of more than 7 or 8 individual tweets, so I figured I should get somewhere where I can write more long form things that won't be as irritating to people when I post them.

Also, my gut tells me that I'm jumping on the bandwagon at JUST the right time. Yep, not a second too late.

So, in the spirit of trying to maintain some form of creativity, look for lots of thoughts about stuff, probably mostly on TV and Theatre and Movies and the like. I don't know that I'll do much "reblogging" or photo stuff, because I tend to think most memes and other things that the internet thinks are AWESOME are dumb. Because I'm largely dead inside. So wish me luck, and I'll try not to ramble or digress TOO much.

#Welcome #Beginnings #Formalities