What’s gonna win !?!?! (I’m predicting a HACKSAW RIDGE sweep!)
Hey there fellow movie geeks! Looking for a fun place to watch the big Academy Awards show with your fellow film fans Sunday night February 26th? Well, We Are Movie Geeks‘ own Tom Stockman will be emceeing a big screen viewing of the Oscars in the main auditorium of the Tivoli Theatre at 6350 Delmar in the heart of University City. During the commercial breaks you’ll have the chance to win some great movie gifts when he tests your Oscar movie trivia knowledge.
And the concession stand will be open so you can purchase drinks (yes, beer and wine) and snacks (the Tivoli pops the best corn!). Best of all, there’s no charge to get in! So dust off the tux and tiara (but formal attire is optional), bone up on this year’s nominated flicks, and join as at the Tivoli Sunday February 26th. The doors open at 6 PM, so get there early! We’ll see you for the big show on the big screen!
2016 shaped up to be another fantastic year for moviegoers. As in past decades, every genre appealed to both fans and Academy voters right up to the biggie of all award shows, the Oscars. Below is a sampling of what AMPAS voters went for in the past fifty years.
1966’s A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS won Best Picture
1976’s ROCKY won Best Picture
1986’s PLATOON won Best Picture
1996’s THE ENGLISH PATIENT won Best Picture
2006’s THE DEPARTED won Best Picture
This year three hundred thirty-six feature films are eligible for the 2016 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced recently.
To be eligible for 89th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.
Global ticket sales also proved to be impressive at the box office. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY crossed the $500 million mark globally after just 12 days in theaters. 2017’s lineup of upcoming releases is looking to be the year of the blockbuster. We just love to go to the movies!
The films on the Geeks list of the Best of 2016 had us laughing, had us crying, had us horrified, had us cheering and had us on silvery journey to La La Land.
Honorable Mentions:
LOVING
A warm, touching intimate portrait of the couple at the the center of the Supreme Court case that struck down laws against interracial marriage, director Jeff Nichols’ moving film is more a romance than a courtroom drama. A very private couple, Richard and Mildred Loving only want to be allowed to live a simple life and raise their children in the rural country where they grew up, but must engage in a persistent, dignified battle to do so. Ruth Negga is particularly striking as shy, sweet Mildred Loving, in a breakout performance.
ARRIVAL
Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, ARRIVAL is a beautiful story about death and nature, and the mystery of life. Director Denis Villeneuve utilizes cinematographer Bradford Young’s photography to embrace with sensitivity and delicacy the relationship between a mother and her child in one of the most unique sci-fi adventures to come along in quite a while. Together the two filmmakers bring a lot of humanity and beauty to the movie.
10. HIGH-RISE
What if the party never ends? What if the apocalypse was happening around us and we were completely ambivalent to it because we were more focused on popping another bottle of champagne and not letting the music stop? More importantly, what if the guests actually want to drive themselves to the point of no return? HIGH-RISE is a masterful satire of society’s instinctual lust for depravity. Made with Kubrick-like precision, HIGH-RISE is an uncompromising look at an apocalyptic dystopia where the “party” is both a status symbol and an escape from the fire looming right outside our door.
9. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
Director Gareth Edwards energizes the long standing franchise with its first live-action spin-off based on just a line of dialogue from the 1977 original. Although the ending is known, this rollicking adventure packs plenty of surprises and humor (thanks to the snarkiest droid ever, the scene-stealing K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk), while giving us heroes who must make morally questionable choices for the greater good. There’s noble self-sacrifice tempered with a final scene that’s been made achingly poignant by recent events. Plus, fans finally get a no-holds-barred “sith lord” rampage!
8. THE WITCH
THE WITCH was the best horror film in a decade. Drawing on “The Crucible” to investigate religious hysteria in the 17th century, writer/director Robert Eggers (making his feature-length debut) delivered an atmospheric film that conjured a sustained feeling of dread, as is presented the unraveling of innocence as paranoia and the possible presence of the supernatural conspire to destroy a vulnerable family.
7. ELLE
Isabelle Huppert is riveting as a woman plotting a complex revenge on her attacker, in director Paul Verhoeven’s twisty revenge thriller,. ELLE is a film that upends all expectations and Huppert’s character is far from a conventional victim, a woman who seems to go about her regular life as the head of a company designing violent fantasy computer games while planning her revenge. Both unsettling and electrifying, ELLE is filled with a wicked dark humor and relentless, clever surprises.
6. HELL OR HIGH WATER
In this gritty modern-day Western, two brothers played by Chris Pine (proving he’s much more than a starship captain) and Ben Foster (superb as a violent loose-cannon) hit back at the greedy bankers by embarking on a multi-state robbery spree. Their story is heart-breaking and compelling, but director David Mackenzie gives equal time to their dogged pursuers played by a laid-back, drawling Jeff Bridges, a Texas Ranger overdue to retire, and Gil Birmingham, a mixed-raced lawman who bares the brunt of his partner’s un-PC ribbing. Writer Taylor Sheridan delivers a taut crime thriller that’s also a biting commentary on the economic demolition of small town USA.
5. JACKIE
The film unites award-winning director Pablo Larraín (NERUDA, NO) with Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman as they re-imagine the private side of one of the most profound moments of the 20th Century. Larraín gives a boldly unconventional spin to the biopic genre, mixing historical footage with complete fictional re-creations, and excavating just one critical moment in Jackie’s life, but in all its intricately woven layers. The centerpiece is Natalie Portman’s haunting, emotionally naked performance which gives the audience unusual access into Jackie Kennedy’s inner psyche in some of her most volatile, fragile, reflective and savvy moments. It is a performance filled with tiny, honest human details that underlie even the most imposing and carefully composed of public images.
4. HACKSAW RIDGE
HACKSAW RIDGE was both the most gruesome and inspiring movie of 2016. Combining a stellar and charming performances from Andrew Garfield, and Oscar-worthy direction from Mel Gibson, HACKSAW RIDGE showed WWII as a glorious character builder, a nurturing ground for male friendship, and an expression of man’s nobility and grit.
3. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Casey Affleck gives a remarkable, moving performance as a man who reluctantly returns to his New England seaside hometown after the sudden death of his older brother, a tragedy that leaves him in change of his teen-aged nephew. Director Kenneth Lonergan avoids expected movie conventions about grief and instead offers a realistic portrait of coping with loss, sprinkling their relationship with unexpected humor as real life often is, and completely believable “guy” interactions between them. The film also captures a strikingly sense of place, as well as painting a portrait of this New England working family. Every moment between the pair feels real and authentic, which makes the dramatic moments all the more powerful.
2. LA LA LAND
What makes LA LA LAND such an astonishing cinematic treat isn’t just the instantly palpable chemistry between Gosling and Stone, but it’s the pitch-perfect combination of casting, ambitious direction, and sumptuous design that harmoniously sing together. The film is about chasing your dreams despite what hardships may get in the way. Regardless of what happens, there’s a sense of happiness for what occurred and not sadness for what might end – as the “Audition” song states, “she said she’d do it again.” LA LA LAND is a romantic musical more in love with the journey than the destination. And what a magical journey it is.
1. MOONLIGHT
Director Barry Jenkins is not afraid to show an experience that is rarely seen in film, and in doing so, spotlighting the skin of his beautifully flawed characters. There are gorgeous shots of vivid colors being cast on their black skin, reflecting their situation and the internal conflict within each of them. This moving portrait of a man struggling with his identity subverts the “coming of age” tropes we have seen before, and presents a story in three parts that feels downright momentous. MOONLIGHT might be the quietest film of the year, but each frame is bursting with life and emotion in ways that few films have achieved this year.
Check out our contributors individual picks for the year that was 2016.
Jim Batts
Honorable Mentions: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, MOONLIGHT, and TOWER
10. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
9. LOVING
8. HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
7. DEPALMA
6. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
5. THE WITCH
4. SING STREET
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
2. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
1. LA LA LAND
Tom Stockman
Honorable Mention: BIRTH OF A NATION
10. NEON DEMON
9. JACKIE
8. ELLE
7. THE LOBSTER
6. SHIN GODZILLA
5. HELL OR HIGH WATER
4. WEINER DOG
3. THE WITCH
2. CAFÉ SOCIETY
1. HACKSAW RIDGE
Cate Marquis
Honorable mentions: La La Land, The Handmaiden, Elvis and Nixon, A War, Weiner, Paterson, Captain Fantastic, Loving, Sully, A Monster Calls, A Man Called Ove, DePalma
10. JACKIE
9. BIRTH OF A NATION
8. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
7. HAIL, CAESAR!
6. JULIETA
5. LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP
4. ELLE
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
2. MOONLIGHT
1. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Michael Haffner
Honorable Mentions: 20th Century Women and Life, Animated
10. ARRIVAL
9. EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
8. GREEN ROOM
7. THE INVITATION
6. JACKIE
5. LA LA LAND
4. ELLE
3. MOONLIGHT
2. SWISS ARMY MAN
1. HIGH-RISE
Michelle McCue
Honorable Mention: NICE GUYS, NEON DEMON, LOVING and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
10. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
9. JACKIE
8. HIGH-RISE
7. THE WITCH
6. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
5. MOONLIGHT
4. LA LA LAND
3. HACKSAW RIDGE
2. HELL OR HIGH WATER
1. ARRIVAL
HACKSAW RIDGE tells the true story of Private Desmond Doss, a medic who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving 75 men on Okinawa during World War II. What sets this heroic story apart is that Doss was a pacifist who refused to even carry a gun, much less fire one, yet won the right to serve and then the respect of his fellow soldiers for his bravery and compassion.
Mel Gibson directs HACKSAW RIDGE yet the film has the sepia-toned look and historic epic sensibility of a Clint Eastwood film. Patriotism, courage and faith are big themes in this war epic. However, by the time we reach the Okinawa battlefield, we definitely know we are watching a Mel Gibson film. Gibson’s taste for plenty of guts with the glory is legendary. Gore abounds and the battlefield scenes are gruesomely realistic, filled with exploding bodies and decaying carnage strewn across a battlefield where days of fighting have left their mark. It may be a realistic depiction of war but it takes a strong stomach to watch on a big screen.
This is not the first movie to spotlighted a war hero who was also a pacifist. Gary Cooper starred as a World War I hero with religiously based pacifist beliefs in SERGEANT YORK. Doss is played by Andrew Garfield, perhaps best known for his role as Spider Man. Like York, Doss had to find a way to reconcile his beliefs that killing, in any circumstance, was wrong with the idea of serving in the military in wartime.
The film opens on a battlefield but quickly flashes back to Doss’s earlier life. Young Desmond (Darcy Bryce) and his brother Hal (Roman Guerriero) grow up in a rural landscape but in a home filled with violence. Beatings by their hard-drinking father (Hugo Weaving), who has been traumatized by his experiences in WWI, are as common as the very rough play the boys engage in with little parental supervision. His father’s war experience and the household violence contrast with his parents’ fundamentalist Christian religion and particularly his mother’s (Rachel Griffiths) pacifism, a combination that shapes Desmond’s beliefs as an adult.
A chance visit to a hospital instills in Doss an interest in medicine as well as an interest in a pretty nurse, Dorothy (Teresa Palmer). When the U.S. joins the fight in WWII, Desmond sees a way to serve his country while not violating his beliefs – by being a medic.
These early scenes have an old Hollywood nostalgia to them. Basic training puts Doss with the usual assortment of types, a pretty boy, a working-class New Yorker, an Italian, an bookish type, and so forth, with Doss playing the sweet country boy. Vince Vaughn plays the tough sergeant in charge. Doss has to fight to stay in the army, which would rather just excuse him from service as a conscientious objector, revealing some of the character’s strength of will. The training scenes offer Gibson the chance to explore Doss’s ethical beliefs and demonstrate his commitment to his ideals. But one senses the director is eager to get back to the battlefield. The film’s old-fashioned movie tone vanishes abruptly once we arrive at Okinawa, and are immersed in the first gut-wrenching, brutal battle scene.
Garfield does an excellent job as Doss, playing him with a quiet inner strength and kind heart that is irresistible. Hugo Weaving is outstanding as Doss’ broken, war-traumatized father, and he adds depth and complexity to the character that another actor might have missed. Another standout is Vince Vaughn, in a nice non-comedic turn as drill sergeant Howell. Sam Worthington is also memorable as Captain Glover, determined at first to get rid of the pacifist Doss but eventually coming to respect him.
Some viewers will find the grim battle scenes difficult to watch, no matter how much it may mimic the reality of war. However, this is a skillfully made film, one of Gibson’s best. Gibson’s films often feature graphic violence but religion is another of his running themes. Doss’ pacifist beliefs are drawn from his religious faith, which the film highlights, but Gibson is gentler with the non-religious and non-Christians in the audience on that count than with the violence. Still, the film will appeal to church audiences, if they can get past the gruesome battlefield scenes.
While Gibson demonstrates deft directorial skill in HACKSAW RIDGE and offers a brief examination of Doss’ pacifism, we always feel like this film is more about the thrills of bloody battle than anything. The real person at the center of this film deserves admiration for his courage and a principled commitment to his beliefs, and his is an inspirational story, but there just seems to be something off about celebrating a pacifist’s bravery through a film that seems to revel in war.
Lionsgate has released two new clips from director Mel Gibson’s HACKSAW RIDGE.
HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Also starring Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, and Vince Vaughn, the film opens in theaters Nov. 4.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of HACKSAW RIDGE on Nov. 1 at 7pm in the St. Louis area.
Answer the Following:
With films that span from the classic, Academy Award® Best Picture-winning Braveheart to The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, The Passion of the Christ and his most recently directed film, the Mayan civilization epic APOCALYPTO, Gibson has become known for meshing big themes with atmospheric style that takes audiences into revealing worlds.
How many Oscars has Mel Gibson won?
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OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images.
HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong.
As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
From Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson (BRAVEHEART), here’s a first look at the powerful new trailer. The film will open in November – prior to Veterans Day 2016.
