Oscars 2019 - Live Blog

Oscars 2019 - Live Blog

The Oscars are here, Ladies and Gentlemen. Come back here for Live Updates as well as my thoughts on the wins, proceedings, as well as anything else that may come up during tonight's broadcast. This post will updated regularly throughout the show. 

Final Thoughts - I thought that while nothing glaringly bad or good happened tonight, I don't know if I would consider that a good thing. I think that a little spice was missing without a host. I do wish they had gotten someone, and seeing people like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler present just made me wish even more that there had been people to present. But oh well. Thus is life. 

As for the winners, there were a few surprises, but overall, nothing that came completely out of the blue, I think. I think Green Book came out of nowhere, but other than that, nothing much. It was a good show though; it almost always is. 

8:19 PM - That. Came out of nowhere. NOWHERE. Congratulations to Green Book. 

8:14 PM - I think at this point it's a foregone conclusion that Roma is going to win, but then again, Bohemian Rhapsody might come out and take it. 

8:08 PM - Alfonso with the win. He's come far since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 

8:07 PM - Del Toro apparently very sick, but he's here. 

7:59 PM - Olivia Coleman coming out of virtually nowhere and taking the Oscar. I don't think many people saw that coming. 

7:58 PM - Nothing much happening in the interim. Now we're looking at best actress, and my pick is the actress from Roma. Although this one could go to anyone. 

7:46 PM - I think no matter what happens tonight, Bohemian Rhapsody and Queen have won more than their fair share. They're sweeping teh board. 

7:35 PM - So many good people have passed on. One last time, RIP Stan Lee. 

7:28 PM - If there was a no brainer in any category, it was this one. Shallow takes the best song. Lady Gaga is giving the best Oscar speech of the entire night.
7:28 PM - This one has to go to Shallow. Best Song goes to Shallow. 

7:24 PM - Stunned. I thought for sure that Mary Poppins: Returns was going to win this one. But the awards keep coming to Black Panther. 

7:15 PM - Spike takes it. Well done, Sam Jackson. Well done.

7:15 PM - Let's see if this can go 2/2. I'm looking for Beale Street to take this.

7:12 PM - Green Book takes it! Original Screenplay. Another win for me. Also, Brie and Sam onstage is making me more excited for Captain Marvel than any trailer has thus far. Kudos, Marvel. 

7:10 PM - Captain Marvel and Nick Fury onstage.

7:00 PM - This song is going to take it. Even amidst Bradley Cooper's offkey singing. This song has so much riding on it to not win. 

6:58 PM - No words.

6:56 PM - If Ready: Player One doesn't win this for the amount of CGI that was poured into this film, I don't know what will be. 

6:47 PM - End Game makes an appearance. But not in the way we hoped. 

6:41 PM - Wayne's World is back!!

6:31 PM - Black Panther may not win tonight, but another comic book movie did. Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse winning was huge for the comic book genre. 
6:30 PM - Some kind of Academy museum? Count me in. Looks incredible.

6:24 PM - Mahershala takes another Oscar for Green Book. He's becoming a big name in the industry, and it's super exciting to see where he's going to go. 

6:19 PM - Bohemian Rhapsody is taking the Oscars by storm. I wonder how many times I'm going to hear that guitar riff this evening. 

6:17 PM - Trevor Noah giving one of the best introductions to a film.

6:10 PM - I don't remember liking this song that much in the movie. But here it is at the Academy Awards. 

6:09 PM - KEAGAN MICHAEL-KEY WITH THE ENTRANCE OF THE NIGHT.

6:07 PM - This one seemed like a no brainer. And it was. Roma takes another on its way to a best picture (we hope). 

6:00 PM - And it does! Another one for me.

5:59 PM - Hoping Bohemian can pull another one out.

5:56 PM - You would think that a movie that relied entirely on sound would win some award. But I guess not. Still, Bohemian Rhapsody is as good of a pick as any. 

5:53 PM - Serena Williams in the house. Interesting. 

5:49 PM - Hudson has a great voice, but I'm not sure about the song. Didn't quite ring with me. My pick is still Shallows. Not that I could change my pick anyways...

5:47 PM - First live song, called I'll Fight. Never heard it before, but excited to hear Hudson perform. 

5:45 PM - They are absolutely rolling through these categories! Another win for me! Roma wins the cinematography. Well-deserved. Cuaron is building himself up to be one of the greats. 

5:43 PM - That speech by the Black Panther production designer was awesome. Absolutely amazing. Chills. 

5:40 PM - Well done to Black Panther! Not at all what I expected. I thought the production design of Mary Poppins: Returns was a little better and more colorful, but totally deserved by Black Panther as well. 

5:37 PM - Captain America waiting in the wings. 

5:30 PM - McCarthy taking her time, with her fabulous costume, but that's another win. Black Panther had some of the most vibrant and culturally sensitive costumes, as well as playing straight into the story. Well done. 

5:28 PM - That was one of the most awkward Oscar speeches... they didn't know whawt to do when they were being played off

5:26 PM - Swung and missed, 1 for 2. I thought Mary: Queen of Scots would win but well-deserved for Vice. 

5:25 PM - Giving us a good look at Vice. It's one of the films that does have a good shot at winning, in my opinion. But we'll have to see. Christian Bale kills it again as Dick Chaney, as well as Rockwell and Amy Adams. 

5:18 PM - Speeches are running a little long tonight. They're being played off now.

5:!5 PM - And now Aquaman takes the stage...

5:13 PM - Wonderful speech by Regina King, extremely heartfelt. I will say that if the goal was to shorten the show though, we might be in for a long night. But without a host things could be going on for a long time. 

5:12 PM - So far so good! I'm one for one. Regina King winning best supporting actress for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. 

5:07 PM - Maya Rudolph straight-up saying that there will be no host. They're being direct about it. Good move to bring out Amy Poehler and Tina Fey beforehand. The more that this is going on, I wish they hosted. 

5:05 PM - Great montage - lot of great moments from 2018

5:04 PM - Good start... we'll see what's going to happen now...

5:00 PM - Oh, here we go!! Queen has taken the stage. What a way to start the Oscars... maybe there won't be a host but this might have been the best alternative. 

 4:53 PM - And we're live! Coverage of the 91st Academy Awards begins now, from yours truly! I'm really interested to see how the Oscars are going to handle the loss of host Kevin Hart. We're about to find out...

Oscars 2019 - My Predictions

Oscars 2019 - My Predictions

The day has come once again. The biggest night in Hollywood; the 91st Academy Awards. And as is custom for me, I make predictions on which actors and crews I think will win the major awards. So, to put it on record for the very first time before the show begins, here are my picks to win the Oscars for the biggest categories. Keep in mind that I have omitted some of the more obscure categories simply because I don't know enough about any of the nominees. Before sure to come back just before 5 PM PST right here to read the live blog of the Oscars. My picks are: 

Best Picture: Roma

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)

Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

Best Actress: Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) 

Best Adapted Screenplay: If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Original Screenplay: Green Book

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

Best Original Song: Shallow (A Star is Born)

Best Animated Picture: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Original Score: Mary Poppins Returns

Best Cinematography: Roma 

Best Costume Design: Black Panther

Best Sound Editing: A Quiet Place

Best Sound Mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Mary: Queen of Scots

Best Visual Effects: Ready: Player One

Best Film Editing: Green Book

Best Production Design: Mary Poppins Returns

Enjoy the show everyone!

Hobbs and Shaw - Trailer 1 Review

Hobbs and Shaw - Trailer 1 Review

The first trailer for Hobbs and Shaw has arrived. Does it deliver? 

Thoughts: I have never seen a Fast and Furious film. I have heard many things about them, not the least of which being that they are incredibly cheesy, action-packed, ludicrous (forgive the pun), but a lot of fun.

I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting from this trailer, but I'll tell you that I got all of those things and then some from these two minutes.

I haven't even seen the film yet, but this trailers just oozed cheese. Absolute, unabashed cheese. From the very first frame where you have Idris Elba spouting villainous exposition like nobody's business, I knew what I was getting myself into. 

And the second that I accepted what this trailer was, I ate it up, to continue with the cheese analogy. It was so cheesy and cliche, but I loved it. I don't know what clicked. On paper, this trailer sucked. The dialogue was terrible, the acting was terrible, and the action was insane, but I loved it. 

Did it Raise Excitement? I wasn't looking forward to this film at all. And I hadn't even seen a Fast and Furious film. I will honestly tell you that after seeing this trailer, I am having thoughts now of going out to the theater to see the movie. It might happen. The fact that a trailer of a film franchise eight films deep can do that is incredible, and just a testament to how fun the movie looks. 

Trailer Rating: 8/10

Spider-Man: Far From Home - Trailer 1 Review

Spider-Man: Far From Home - Trailer 1 Review

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home has arrived. Does it deliver? 

Thoughts: Let me preface this by saying that I do not have any faith in Sony's marketing. Not to be too technical, but a little background behind this. Marketing teams are the teams at movie studios that are responsible for cutting together clips and scenes from the movie to promote a given film, and essentially to get as many people into the theater as possible.  In almost every case, the marketing teams are separate from the actual creative team, which is why you can have bad trailers to good movies, and vice versa

Again, there are exceptions. This isn't confirmed, but I believe Disney gives their creative team a lot more say in the marketing than most other studios, which is probably why their trailers are so much better than a lot of others.

Let's go back a little further. Spider-Man: Homecoming was an exciting film; it was the first film that saw Spider-Man hold his own in the MCU. But the marketing? The marketing completely botched the film. They spoiled a lot of big scenes and moments, and simply by watching the trailers, you can piece together the entire movie. 

So heading into this first trailer, I was nervous. The trailer had already been delayed from the past December, which gave me even more pause. Was it because the trailer was so problematic that Marvel had to intervene? We do know that this is a risky move, even putting out a trailer when Avengers: Endgame hasn't even come out yet, 

Whatever the case may have been, I'll take the end result. I think this trailer is brilliant. 

I cannot stress enough how nervous I was to see the trailer. I pressed the play button and watched the entire two and a half minutes. But by the end, I was grinning from ear to ear. I woke up early just to see the trailer drop, and it was so worth it. The trailer woke me up, and I saw it so many times through the rest of the day. 

Peter is back, and yes, there is no mention as to what happened in Avengers: Endgame, but does anyone not realize that he's coming back at this point? He's back and better than ever, going after Zendaya's Michelle (MJ) with his buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon) in Europe. 

The inclusion of both Nick Fury and Maria Hill were welcome, as well as Happy Hogan. Unlike the first film, which felt the absolute need to include Iron Man to ground Spider-Man into the MCU, this feels like it's connected to the larger universe as a whole while letting Holland play his own character.

We also get our first look at Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and he looks great. We know very little about his character, and whether or not he's going to be a hero or a villain, but his costume looks great. The fish bowl was a little jarring, granted, and I hope they don't make it that cheesy in the film, but otherwise, he looks wonderful. 

And can we talk about the music? I thought the music for the previous Spider-Man: Homecoming trailers were jarring, because they switched from a pop song to an orchestral score and not very well. This trailer does the same thing, but it does it in such an organic and brilliant way. The Spider-Man theme was brilliant.

Did it Raise Excitement? I was so incredibly excited for the film to begin with, but I can absolutely say that this trailer shot my excitement through the roof.

This is where things get interesting. This trailer was phenomenal. But it did not play as a teaser trailer. It played almost like a second, or third trailer. And I feel a little worried that while this trailer was so good, the second and third will not be. And because of that, I will not be watching any other promotional pieces of marketing. I am so incredibly satisfied with this trailer and from here, I can't wait to see the film come July. 

Trailer Rating: 10/10