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 1. Blade Runner 2049
I waited quite some time to finally see this film, much longer than I originally wanted to since I love the original Blade Runner by Ridley Scott. I was not disappointed by this sequel and can fully understand why it won the award for Best Visual Effects. The main thing that I noticed when watching this film was that the visual effects served to drive the story forward when they were employed and at no time did I say to myself, "that effect felt out of place." Yes, there were times when the effects were obvious, but plenty of others where it was hard to determine if the effects were digital, practical, or some combination of the two. Overall, the visuals in this film are stunning and align extremely well with the visuals of the original. The use of light and shadow throughout the film lend an otherworldly feel to the future earth portrayed in the film. It also provides a sense of motion and unsteadiness, even when characters and camera are perfectly still. I rate this a strong 9+/10 for the film as a whole and agree with the Academy in selecting this for Best Visual Effects of 2017. 
Yes, that's a bull in a china shop in the poster for Ferdinand. If you have ever been in elementary school, chances are you read the book by Munro Leaf and have a special place in your heart for the lovable bull who refuses to fight with the other bulls and only wants to smell the flowers.
If you never read the book as a child or if it's been a while, I actually found a PDF of the entire text of the book. It is JUST the text, so keep that in mind, but I strongly urge you to get the full book for your kids since it is a classic. Now, as much as I recommend checking out the book, you don't need to have read the book before seeing this film. In fact, you might do well to read the book after watching the film and talk with your kids about what is different between the two and why that might be. 
It's time for yet another Dwayne Johnson action flick and the third in the line of Adam Sandler's Hotel Transylvania films.
Pixar has done it again. Coco is a stunning film that delivers fantastic visuals, rousing musical numbers, and a truly emotional story that will bring the family to tears.
The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature as well as Best Original Song, for "Remember Me," winning in both categories and continuing the tradition of Pixar's success at the Oscars over the last thirty years. At its core, it is a story of the importance of family, and never forgetting where you came from. Being set against the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos gives it an additional pop and lends itself to the beautiful colors and pageantry seen throughout the film. 
The first film on my list for Best Animated Feature from last year is The Boss Baby. This is a hugely fun film from Dreamworks and for anyone who has ever been a big (or little) sibling, parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent...OK, anyone who's ever been around an infant, you will instantly relate to some of the scenes in this film which is based on a picture book of the same name.
It was a little serendipitous that this film arrived in theaters last year right around the same time my family added a baby of our own, with two older kids that fit perfectly in the age range of the character in the film. I will say up front that Alec Baldwin was the perfect selection for the lead role in this film and absolutely carried the movie. I had absolutely no trouble matching the voice with the character on screen. With that, let's get on to the summary. Now that I'm done with my write-ups for all of the films nominated for Best Animated Short Film, I decided to do a brief recap post for all five together.
 1. Dear Basketball
I think this deserved the win and it was great to see someone from the world of sports cross over into film and receive recognition for the work. I appreciated Kobe's speech at the award ceremony and I'm honestly hopeful that we'll see him back at the Oscars in the future with his next film venture. Read my analysis of "Dear Basketball." |
AuthorI'm just a film buff who wants to watch great movies. Where else to find the best, than the list of those nominated by the Academy each year? Archives
May 2023
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