Expectations and Oscar talk

It's that time of the year again, a time I both love and get frustrated with and you may wonder what I'm talking about, well it's academy awards I'm referring to. Every year you get the nominations and if you're like me you agree with most but scratch your head at a few. I guess I have certain expectations when it comes to either the film being nominated or actor, actress nominated.
I just saw Into the Woods because I had to see if Meryl Streep deserved her nomination and it's what I thought, she gets nominated because of who she is and not because of how great her performance was.
I give the actors and actresses credit who do musicals because not only do they have to act but they have to be able to sing as well. It's a slap in the face to the other participants of the movie that only Meryl gets nominated because I think Emily Blunt and Anna Kendrick are equally as good if not better than Mrs. Streep.
Another nomination I don't agree with is Laura Dern in Wild, I get she's the catalyst for the character but her performance didn't add anything to the movie such as Renee Russo in Nightcrawler whose smarmy news director is a great performance that was overlooked.
Ethan Hawke is another one whom I've begun to think plays the same character, another wasted nomination that should have gone to Tom Wilkinson or Tim Roth in Selma, two great performances that shouldn't be missed. Unfortunately I have to include Robert Duvall in this as well because that nomination is all about his age and how he may never get another shot at an academy award nomination. 
The other night I was leaving work and I was asked if I had seen American Snipper yet and at the time I hadn't, so this individual commented that it was going to win the best picture Oscar because it was the best movie they had seen. Well I'm going to strongly disagree because it's a good movie but it is not the best picture of the year. If I got to pick, it would be Guardians of the Galaxy hands down but that is never going to happen. Now back to reality. If I had to pick with what's nominated, it'd be between Birdman and Imitation Game and I might lean towards Imitation Game, I can't say enough how good that movie was.
This brings me to Bradley Cooper's nomination and I know a lot of people will disagree but I'm only telling you what's true. No he doesn't deserve the nomination because I've seen better work from him, in fact last year in American Hustle or the year before with Silver Linings Playbook. Personally Jake Gyllenhaal is great in Nightcrawler and should have been nominated, it's not an easy character to watch but without that performance you don't have that movie. I'd even say Ralph Finnes in Grand Budapest Hotel but comedies never get their just desserts.
Julianne Moore is going to win the Oscar for Still Alice and it's a fine performance but it isn't the best of the year. Rosamund Pike's performance in Gone Girl is the one I'd pick, I mean wow I could choose some choice words for her character but she played that character well. Felicity Jones is the other one I'd pick instead of Julianne Moore, her character had so much depth to it. 
Well as it is every year I enjoy watching the Oscar telecast and some years have been better than others it's the one thing I look forward to. So until next time, keep watching movies because you know I will.

Let's talk about movies: My yearly top movies

Let's talk about movies: My yearly top movies: I was asked recently how long it takes me to comprise my list of top movies for the year, this person commented that it took me what 10 - 15...

Let's talk about movies: My yearly top movies

Let's talk about movies: My yearly top movies: I was asked recently how long it takes me to comprise my list of top movies for the year, this person commented that it took me what 10 - 15...

My yearly top movies

I was asked recently how long it takes me to comprise my list of top movies for the year, this person commented that it took me what 10 - 15 minutes. Wow, if only they knew me a little better they'd realize it takes me the whole year to come up with that list, when I see a great movie I'm thinking where it's going to on the list. Another aspect I have to deal with is people who ask me why I didn't include a favorite movie of there's, well let's be honest because it's my list and I didn't think your movie deserved to be on my list. I know that sounds arrogant and that's not my intention but movies are a big deal to me. When I go to the movies it's the one place I can truly say that I'm hoping that I'm going to be totally mesmerized and  blown away by the movie I'm watching. That is where the list comes from, those few movies that blew me away, made me feel something because of how well the story was told. I always place a disclaimer at the end of my list telling people that I'm sure not everyone is going to agree with my list but I'm always open to a discussion and I'm hoping that some of the movies on my list will inspire people to watch some of these movies and discover a truly great film.
I have to admit I recently watched The Imitation Game and if I could change my list this would be in my top ten because this is a great film that I think people should see. Benedict Cumberbatch is a great actor along with the ensemble that make this film unforgettable. 
I guess you could say the movies on my top films of the year are recommendations, the reason I bring this up is that people are always recommending movies to me and some I'll definitely see and the others well I think you'll understand when I say I have no intention of ever watching. I know I once said I'd watch any movie so you wouldn't have to, well I can honestly say I can no longer do that, there comes a point where even I can't watch something that is going waste my time. As You know time is a commodity and I can't waste it on crap anymore plus when a lot of that crap has no substance it's a waste for me. I'm not some elitist who doesn't enjoy a good popcorn film or the summer blockbuster anymore, it's just that Hollywood keeps producing more crap these days and I've reached that point where I've become more selective with both my time and the movies I'm willing to sit through.
Here are my top 20 films for 2014:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Grand Budapest Hotel
3. Birdman
4. The Lunchbox
5. Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
6. The Skeleton Twins
7. Snowpiercer / The Raid 2
8. Pride
9. Chef
10. Whiplash
11. Begin Again
12. Boyhood
13. Foxcatcher
14.Interstellar
15.Nightcrawler
16. How To Train Your Dragon 2
17. Edge of Tomorrow
18. St. Vincent
19. X-Men: Days of Future Past
20. Dawn of The Planet of the Apes

Let's talk about movies: Robin Williams

Let's talk about movies: Robin Williams: I resisted commenting about Robin Williams on social media because it wouldn't have meant as much. You see he touched my family and me i...

Robin Williams

I resisted commenting about Robin Williams on social media because it wouldn't have meant as much. You see he touched my family and me in a way he will never know, my son was in the hospital at UCSF many years ago and I had gone to see my son on a Sunday and thought it would be just a normal day for us when I was told by the hospital staff that he'd been by. They told me that he'd done this in the past and he would also buy toys for the kids in the ward where my son was at. I thought what a tremendous and incredible gift a star of his stature could give to people and it wasn't for publicity, the staff told me he would just come by to see how the kids were doing and hoping he could give them a little joy while they were there.
Robin was a great talent who's light went out to soon and it is disingenuous to say he was selfish because until you've know the kind of pain some people go through in life it tarnishes all good they've brought to many which can never be repaid. I just hope he's finally happy and not suffering anymore because that little gesture he showed to my son and the other kids is something I will hold with me the rest of my life.
My favorite performance from Robin is probably in the Fisher King an incredible movie that as I'm writing this, I need to watch again. Don't get me wrong he's incredible in Aladdin, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, and countless others. His performance in Insomnia is brilliant, it showed a whole new dimension to his acting that I hadn't seen before and I think it's a lot better than One Hour Photo which he got acclaim for. I loved how he could go from dramatic in Good Will Hunting and to comedy and give us a classic like Mrs. Doubtfire. Like I said a tremendous talent that will be missed for many generations to come, I guess we'll have his movies but I'd trade all that just so his family could have him.

I like pretty much anything and why aren't there more family films

I was having a conversation with a co-worker not too long ago and we were discussing what movie or movies I was going to watch that week. I mentioned that I planned on watching "The Grand Budapest Hotel", and without missing a beat this individual said "you like oscar films, don't you!". Of course I responded "yes", but I think this person thought this was foreign film with subtitles which he could not understand. I explained it was a comedy by Wes Anderson that I really wanted to see, but I think the title may have seemed a little ostentatious to him, oh well his loss. In my opinion it is one of the best films of the year, it was very funny and it has to be one of Wes Anderson's best films.
I'm asked every weekend what I plan on watching that week and I'm sure some of the titles I mention throw them off because it's not something they would pay to see, but I'm not like everybody else, I love seeing almost everything. There are always exceptions, maybe it's the trailer I saw that I could just tell I wanted no part of watching that movie. I'm sure people who know me would think differently because I've seen some movies that they were right about that just sucked. I'll give some examples of bad movies I've seen, Robocop, the 300 sequel, Transcendence, That Awkward Moment, and Jack Ryan. I think the one I was disappointed in most was The Amazing Spider-man 2, there's elements I like but overall very disappointing, don't even get me started on the need to reboot it. I did recently see another hidden gem that I highly recommend which is called "Fading Gigolo", it's with John Turturro who wrote and directed this film and also stars Woody Allen. A very funny film that has Woody Allen's character setting up John Turturro's character for a menage a trios with Sharon Stone and Sofia Vergara.

As a parent I've often wondered why there aren't more family films to take your kids to, and I'm not talking about animated films, which I love as well. I'm talking about movies like when I was a kid like the old Disney movies, The Computer Wore Glasses, The Apple Dumpling Gang, or The Black Hole, something other than animation. It seems today we only associate family or kids films as animated, which I think needs to change. I'm sure people my age or a little younger remember family films like The Goonies, The Sandlot, Holes and E.T. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's more potential for better stories other than just animation to be told, especially for a little older kids and parents as well. Also it seems like when you're looking for movies to take your family to there's always a huge gap in between movies for the whole family to see. As much crap as Hollywood puts out, there's a huge potential for more money I think in family films as we can attest to animated movies. Live action family films have as good a chance as any animated film, they just have start getting made and not skimp on the quality.