lady bird

Beard Blog Oscars Predictions – 2018

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The Beard Blog Academy Awards Predictions

This is definitely a strong female year.  Most of the great movies from this past season feature strong female performances and even a female director.

I have chosen my favorites from this past year and given out my own “awards”:

Beard Blog Outstanding Performance Awards:

Director:

  • Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
  • Jordan Peele – Get Out
  • Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game

Actress:

  • Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
  • Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
  • Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
  • Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
  • Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water
  • Jessica Chastain – Molly’s Game

Actor:

  • Michael Shannon – The Shape of Water
  • Tom Hanks – The Post
  • Idris Elba – Molly’s Game
  • Ansel Elgort – Baby Driver

 

90th Academy Awards:

Best Picture:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor:
* Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour

Best Actress:
* Francis McDormand – Three Billboards…

Best Supporting Actor:
* Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards…

Best Supporting Actress:
* Allison Janney – I, Tonya

Best Director:
* Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Molly’s Game

Best Original Screenplay:
Three Billboards…

* = correct prediction

See my movie reviews here

Oscar Nominations 2018

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The 90th annual Academy Awards airs Sunday March 4, 2018 on ABC

Here are my picks for this years Oscars. These are not my predictions (those will come later). These are my votes as if they let me into the Academy.

Oscars

*Unfortunately, I have not see all the films listed below as of writing this (which could change), so I only voted for those I have seen.

My picks are highlighted in gold.  Visit the links to see my reviews.

  • Best Picture
  • Actor in a Leading Role
    • Timothy Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
    • Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
    • Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
    • Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
    • Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel, Esq.
  • Actress in a Leading Role
    • Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
    • Frances McDormand – Three Billboards…
    • Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
    • Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
    • Meryl Streep – The Post
  • Actor in a Supporting Role
    • Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
    • Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards…
    • Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
    • Christopher Plummer – All the Money in the World
    • Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards…
  • Actress in a Supporting Role
    • Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
    • Allison Janney – I, Tonya
    • Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
    • Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
    • Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water
  • Directing
    • Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
    • Jordan Peele – Get Out
    • Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
    • Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread
    • Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
  • Writing (Adapted)
    • Call Me by Your Name – James Ivory
    • The Disaster Artist – Nuestadler & Weber
    • Logan – Frank, Mangold, and Green
    • Molly’s Game – Aaron Sorkin
    • Mudbound – Williams & Rees
  • Writing (Original)
    • The Big Sick – Gordon & Nanjani
    • Get Out – Jordan Peele
    • Lady Bird – Greta Gerwig
    • The Shape of Water – del Toro & Taylor
    • Three Billboards… – Martin McDonough

Beard Blog Movie Review 2017 Roundup

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Beard Blog movie rankings for 2017

Ranking the movies I’ve seen in 2017 from best to worst. Some I have reviewed and some I have not. Click on the link to read the full review for each applicable movie.

  1. Lady Bird – 9 / 10
  2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – 9 / 10
  3. Star Wars – The Last Jedi – 8.5 / 10
  4. Get Out – 8.5 / 10
  5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – 8 / 10
  6. The Big Sick – 8 / 10
  7. The Disaster Artist – 8 / 10
  8. Baby Driver – 8 / 10
  9. Thor: Ragnarok – 8 / 10
  10. It – 8 / 10
  11. Jigsaw – 7.5 / 10
  12. Mother! – 7.5 / 10
  13. Stronger – 7.5 / 10
  14. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – 7.5 / 10
  15. Kong: Skull Island – 7.5 / 10
  16. Murder on the Orient Express – 7.5 / 10
  17. Battle of the Sexes – 7 / 10
  18. Logan – 7 / 10
  19. Life – 7 / 10
  20. John Wick: Chapter 2 – 7 / 10
  21. Logan Lucky – 6.5 / 10
  22. Alien: Covenant – 6.5 / 10
  23. Dunkirk – 6.5 / 10
  24. The Hitman’s Bodyguard – 6 / 10
  25. The Fate of the Furious – 6 / 10
  26. The Wizard of Lies – 6 / 10
  27. The Circle – 6 / 10
  28. American Made – 5.5 / 10
  29. Baywatch – 5 / 10
  30. The House – 5 / 10
  31. CHiPS – 5 / 10
  32. All Eyez On Me – 4.5 / 10
  33. XxX: Return of Xander Cage – 4 / 10
  34. Suburbicon – 3 / 10

 

More reviews to come in 2018!

Beard Blog Movie Review: Lady Bird (2017)

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Lady Bird, time to fly.

lady bird
Saoirse Ronan as “Lady Bird”

Lady Bird is an odd-titled coming of age story set in the early 2000s. The film follows Christine “Lady Bird” MacPherson played by Saoirse (Sir-sha) Ronan as she navigates high school, sex, family, and getting into college. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”With great writing and even better acting Lady Bird will be a film to remember.”[/perfectpullquote]

To put in bluntly, Lady Bird is a roller coaster of emotions. You get the sense of how tough it is to be a teen getting ready to enter the real world. This film feels very nostalgic to me, mainly because I was also in high school in the early 2000s.

Lady Bird offers laughter, tears, hatred, and compassion. There’s rarely an emotionless scene. You won’t get a lot of sugar-coating or TV sitcom scenarios. This film delivers a lot of truths and a lot of real family experiences.

Saoirse Ronan is fantastic in Lady Bird. She will be deserving of a Best Actress nominee for this role. Throughout the whole movie Ronan’s character is ever-changing and she plays those changes so very well. Normally she has a thick Irish accent, but I would have never guessed that from this role.

Laurie Metcalf, who I grew up watching play Rosann’s sister, is fantastic as Christine’s mother. She’s tough and loving, just like all the best moms. Her character’s actions at the end of the movie really pull on the heartstrings.

The rest of the cast was amazing as well. The director, Greta Gerwig, who also wrote the script, did a great job delivering the emotion to the screen. With great writing and even better acting Lady Bird will be a film to remember.

Who should see this movie? People who like realistic tales, viewers who want to see great screen acting, and “coming of age” fans.

Who shouldn’t see this movie? Young children and people who don’t have a heart. This is another movie I feel that almost everyone needs to see.

Score

9 / 10 – I loved this movie. Everything about it makes me smile. Great movies impart lots of emotion and Lady Bird does just that.

 

See more of my movie reviews here

No Spoilers