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Your Average 2017 Oscar Predictions
The 89th Academy Awards are a little over four weeks away, and the nominees are now set for the golden statue award ceremony. After winning six Golden Globes, La La Land is the favorite to win Best Picture, with Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea not far behind. It wouldn’t be an award ceremony without our share of snubs and surprises, but we’ll save that debate for another time (hint: never). Since we’re officially licensed movie connoisseurs, we thought we’d skip that debate and instead give our iron clad predictions on the Best Picture race, as well as who we think will walk away winners in some of the other major categories. Will Hacksaw Ridge pull off the monumental upset and win Best Picture? Will Casey Affleck cruise through awards season with a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Actor? Let’s get to our predictions and find out! (And follow along at home with our 2017 Oscar Ballot!)
[Spoilers Limited]
ARRIVAL
Synopsis: Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.
Arrival is the kind of movie where you leave the theater having seen a totally different movie than you expected. It’s so much more than a SciFi movie, and the message can still resonate even if you swap out the aliens. Also, it was delightful to see Jeremy Renner in something where he wasn’t toting a bow and arrow; he really shines in this flick, even though he wasn’t put up for consideration. I think Arrival not only walks away, handily, with the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, but also has a real good shot at Film Editing and Production Design. This is a GORGEOUS film. -Matt
FENCES
Synopsis: A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.
Viola Davis, all-around Hollywood superstar, and Rhode Island native, gets her third Oscar nomination (Most of any black woman in history) for her role in Fences. She plays opposite Denzel in a film that seems to hit deep at your inner-most emotions (The academy loves those types of movies this year apparently). If I know Denzel and Viola they are sure to put on a painfully honest performance that will stay with you beyond the theater. Along with Denzel and Viola both getting nods, Fences is also up for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. While I can’t speak for the actors performances specifically, I could see a tight race with Arrival for adapted screenplay (since this is derived from a critically acclaimed play by August Wilson). -Matt
HACKSAW RIDGE
Synopsis: WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Hacksaw Ridge is the tale of two movies. The first half of the movie follows Desmond T. Doss from childhood up to his enrollment in the Army, and lays out why he was a pacifist and a conscientious objector to the war. There’s a specific moment in his childhood that not only turns him into a pacifist, but alters the direction of his life. The first hour or so moves along slowly, but as soon as Desmond and his unit are deployed to Hacksaw Ridge, all hell breaks loose. This is where Garfield and director Mel Gibson really shine, and anyone who’s seen Braveheart knows that Gibson is at his best when depicting the brutality of war. The fact that this is based on a true story (there’s a quick interview with the real Desmond after the movie that is incredibly moving) only enhances the emotion of this film. Hacksaw Ridge is also nominated for five other awards, including best actor, director, film editing, sound editing and sound mixing. It’s a long shot to win any of the three major awards, but regardless of whether it wins or loses, it’s a must see film. –Ryan
Girl Gets Tasered For Charity
Something tells me there are much better ways to raise money for charity. Bake sale, car wash, walk-a-thon you know, anything except for being tasered. Apparently she charged a group of guys $100 each to watch her get tasered in a bikini. And mom thought that business degree would never get any use.
-Matt
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – George Clooney Press Week
Oh my sweet Clooney. Some people look forward to Christmas. Some people look forward to their birthday. I look forward to George Clooney’s media week. He’s promoting Monuments Men, which I will probably see, but right now the matter at hand is Clooney. Letterman one day, The Daily Show the next (YouTube has banned the Daily Show video. Nobody bans Clooney!). So effortless. So suave. Cracking jokes, making everyone in the room feel like they’ve been best friends for years. If I ever met a magic genie, I’d wish for George Clooney to come out with 52 movies a year, so we’d never have to be apart.
– Ryan
P.S.
Reason Number One Million Why George Clooney is the Best: He Lets Bill Murray Crash at His Place Whenever He’s in Los Angeles
Source – There was a lot to talk to George Clooney about at Friday’s press day for his new film, “The Monuments Men”: His reaction to that cold diss from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes; that on-set prank he pulled on Matt Damon where Clooney had wardrobe continually and very narrowly tighten Damon’s waistline; and of course the film itself, a highly anticipated adventure about the hunt for art stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
During Yahoo Movies’ chat with Clooney, though, in addition to discussing possible comeuppance by Damon, he inadvertently let one little fun factoid slip: That Bill Murray crashes at Clooney’s house when in Los Angeles.
Jesus Christ how cool can one guy be? Also, I’ve never been more jealous of Bill Murray in my life. I always knew the guy was a superstar, but now that he gets to stay at Clooney’s house!? I’ve never wanted to be a 63 year old man so badly. Game. Set. Clooney.
– Ryan
George Clooney Has Finally Seen the Light. See Ya On the Red Carpet!
Source – As one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, George Clooney has no shortage of options when it comes to securing a date. However, it could be you by his side at the upcoming “Monuments Men” premiere.
That’s because the 52-year-old is auctioning off a date with himself for the Feb. 4 red carpet event in Manhattan. And through a $10 donation on charity site Omaze, you will be entered to win. That’s right — it’s only $10 to throw your hat in the ring. (And the more entries you buy, the cheaper it gets.)
Being the Oscar winner’s date at a premiere is exciting enough, but the winner gets even more Clooney time. Along with a friend, the lucky lady or gent flies to the Big Apple and accompanies him to “Late Show With David Letterman,” where they’ll hang backstage as part of his entourage while he’s interviewed by Dave. Then, they’ll ride to the premiere together in style, walk the red carpet, and sit with him in the VIP row during the screening of the film, which Clooney directed, wrote, and stars in.
Oh, and the date extends to attending the afterparty as Clooney’s special guests. Other talent in the film include Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, and John Goodman, so it will be a star-studded affair.
According to the Omaze website, at the end of the night, the winners will have learned, “How it feels to be the classiest person on the red carpet (by association); what it’s like to go out in NYC with the ultimate man’s man, ladies’ man, and all around man; AND George may even share how he masterfully pranks super star buddies like Brad Pitt.”
Clooney, who’s single since splitting with Stacy Keibler over the summer, is doing this to benefit Satellite Sentinel Project, which is an organization that reports on the state of the conflict in the border regions between Sudan and South Sudan via satellite imagery. (The war-torn country has long been a close to the megastar’s heart.)
The contest ends on Jan. 30. And, who knows? The winner may have so much fun with Clooney that they could become part of his inner circle. Next spring, they could be with him in Lake Como skinny-dipping along with the rest of his A-list pals.
How’s that for $10 well spent?
I’ve been preparing for this moment my entire life. It’s just funny because this whole time I was running after Clooney, and now he’s right where I want him*. All it’s going to take is donating $10 to a good cause and I’ll be schmoozing with big wigs on the red carpet. This Yahoo! article obviously knows its stuff because after the red carpet event it’s inevitable that Clooney and I become best friends. What do best friends do? They skinny dip in Lake Como. Looks like Uncle Ryan has finally hit the big time. And it’s all because of Clooney.
– Ryan
*If for some insane reason he’s ever read any of my blogs on him I’ll probably be disqualified from the contest and thrown in jail. Risk I’m willing to take.
Jon Hamm’s Beard Is Magical
Someone who looks as handsome as Jon Hamm does clean shaven shouldn’t be allowed to grow a mean beard like this. I was always under the impression it was one or the other. If you looked good clean shaven then your beard would come in all patchy, and if you could grow a serious beard then maybe you had some type of facial deformity. Not Jon Hamm. He’s a mythical creature who’s handsomeness knows no limits. I don’t want to grow a beard now. I have to.
– Ryan
So Armpits4August Is A Thing
(Source) And now, the female answer to Movember: British women are growing out their pit hair to support Armpits4August, a new initiative to raise money and awareness for those suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a condition so little known that spell-checker wants me to fix its name. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of PCOS include weight gain as well as excess hair on the face and body (hence the gesture of growing out one’s body hair to support PCOS sufferers — although a monthlong weight-gain initiative could be interesting too). Armpits4August’s website says that up to 10 percent of women are affected by the disease — which is a lot, considering how little is known about it.
Armpits4August was founded in 2012, so it’s still quite small and still restricted mainly to the U.K. Although its participants only number in the hundreds so far, the Telegraph is already billing it as the ladies’ version of Movember, an initiative in which men grow mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues. Global awareness of Movember has exploded since its 2003 inception, raising nearly $118 million last year with well over a million mustachioed participants.
There has to be a better way to raise awareness for this disease. HAS TO. I understand one of the symptoms is “excess hair on the face and body”, but is growing out your armpit hair really the look to combat that? That picture of the woman with the hairy pits is haunting. Can’t we just set up a telethon or a website to spread the word. Basically do anything but grow out your armpit hair. And let’s stop with the comparisons to guys with mustaches. Yes they were cool in the 70s but some guys can still pull them off. I can’t think of one woman who I’d want to see with a barrel of hair under her arm.
– Ryan
Saxby Chambliss, The Wordsmith
Saxby Chambliss has done it again. The senior U.S. Senator from Georgia who so eloquently bashed gay marriage back in March by stating “I’m not gay. So I’m not going to marry one” is back in the news, this time for comments he made during a Senate Armed Forces Committee. While addressing the committee, Chambliss stated “The young folks who are coming into each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 22 or 23. Gee whiz, the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur. So we’ve got to be very careful how we address it on our side”. In Mr. Chambliss’s defense, he did reprimand the militarys lack of action on this issue which has clearly spiraled out of control. When the man in charge of the Air Force’s sexual assaualt prevention program is ARRESTED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT, I think its time for a change. I hate to talk politics, mainly because its a never ending argument that ends up with both sides sticking their feet in the mud, but the fact that a senior United States Senator is making these kind of statements is alarming. I support gay marrriage, but I absolutely understand that some people feel differently. However, “I’m not gay. So I’m not going to marry one” is not an acceptable argument to debuke gay marriage. While most of his 6 minute speech at the committee hearing was positive, even the inclusion of the word hormones in a sexual assualt hearing is ridiculous. If these comments were overheard at a bar or a baseball game, we could chalk it up to ignorance. Saxby Chambliss has served two terms as Senator of Georgia. His stance on issues affect this country, and thats scary to me.
America is great. It provides its people rare freedoms that arent afforded to the majority of this world. With that said, America is rotten, and it starts at the top, with both parties to blame. If the top of the tree is poisoned, it will eventually trickle down and poison the entire tree, and the entire tree in this analogy is our society. Saxby Chambliss is retiring after his current term. If only the resolution were that easy.
– Ryan
