2019 Oscar Nominations

The screenings are over, the studio campaigns have wrapped, and all the Hollywood ass kissing has led to the 2019 Oscar nominations. These years the announcements were hosted Kumail Nanjiani and by “Black-ish” Golden Globe winner Tracee Ellis Ross.

I liked the two of them together, and they were able to keep the usually boring process quite fun. Kumail Nanjiani, in particular, was rather funny, maybe the Academy should consider him to host next year?  But that would probably make too much sense. Anyways, for the sake of time, I’m only going to mention the major categories here. But if you’d like to see a full list of nominees, you can do so HERE.

And now, here are your nominees for the 91st annual Academy Awards:

Best Picture:
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star is Born”
“Vice”

Best Director:
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Paweł Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuaron, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliot, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Best Animated Feature:
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”

As a comic fan, it’s really cool to see “Black Panther” nominated for best picture. I think in total, “Black Panther” has 7 nominations which is incredible. Other than that, there really weren’t many surprises, and the only snub I can think of is Bradley Cooper not getting nominated for Best Director. But with no clear front runner, it will be an interesting ceremony to watch.

The 91s Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, on February 24, 2019. The ceremony will be broadcast on ABC.

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Better late than never review: Once Upon a Deadpool

Possible spoilers ahead!

In “Once Upon A Deadpool,” the family story of “Deadpool 2” is reframed using the storytelling structure of the classic 80s movie, “The Princess Bride.” Except that in this case, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), has kidnapped the adult Fred Savage (playing himself) and duct-taped him to a bed in a set that looks like Savage’s bedroom from Princess Bride.

After some back and forth arguing and plenty of joking, Deadpool cheerfully explains the PG-13 nature of the re-cut. From there Wade forces Fred Savage to listen to his story as he read from a storybook.

The rest of “Once Upon A Deadpool” is basically what you saw in the theatrical cut of “Deadpool 2.” We still get Deadpool hunting down bad guys, but after the death of his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Wade becomes aimless. Wade’s multiple attempts to kill himself fail, so he ends up joining the X-Men as a trainee to Colossus (Stefan Kapicic). However, Deadpool’s life takes on a surprising turn when he meets mutant teenager Russell (Julian Dennison). It takes some time, but eventually, Wade decides to save Russell, both from Cable (Josh Brolin), and from himself.

The “Deadpool 2” stuff is occasionally interjected with new scenes from Fred Savage and Deadpool, commenting on whatever is going on in the story at that particular point. Some of their topics the two tackle include: Nickelback, Marvel vs. Fox/Marvel, Cable’s complicated history, and what Fred Savage would like to do with the talented Matt Damon.

Because the holiday season was so crowded with movies, I was not able to see everything that I wanted too. One of the films I didn’t get to see was “Once Upon a Deadpool,” but after finally seeing the finished product this past weekend, I’m actually kind of glad I didn’t pay to see it in the theater. To be clear, “Once Upon a Deadpool” isn’t bad, but I was surprised by how little there is when it comes to “new” material.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think most of the new stuff in “Once Upon a Deadpool” is just deleted scenes you can watch on the “Deadpool 2” blu-ray. Maybe I’m alone in this, but I was hoping for a lot more new material, so I’m not sure what we got was enough to make it worth the price of a new ticket. I say that because if you saw “Deadpool 2” in theaters last summer, then you’ve seen at least 85% of this movie.

That said, the scenes in the Princess Bride bedroom between Deadpool and Fred Savage are hysterical. The jokes between the two, the post-credits scenes. The combination of Deadpool and Fred Savage is charming and easily the best part of “Once Upon a Deadpool.” I actually would have liked to have seen more of these two, and less of “Deadpool 2.” Savage made some great observations, some of which even left Deadpool speechless. The two actors even get in some great PG-13 jabs.

Another thing I enjoyed about “Once Upon a Deadpool” was that is solved some of the pacing issues I felt “Deadpool 2: had. Because Wade is reading the story out loud to Fred Savage, Deadpool can fill in any of the moments were R-rated content was cut. This is done in such a way, that the story of “Deadpool 2” moves at a brisker pace.

This happens right from the start when the whole “9 to 5” intro is completely cut from “Once Upon a Deadpool.” A few other er things are cut along the way, mostly R rated violence, but nothing that truly affects the main story. I appreciated that “Once Upon a Deadpool” doesn’t waste time and gets right tot he point. Before I even knew it, we were up to the X-Force stuff already.

At the end of the day, “Once Upon A Deadpool” is a decent re-cut of “Deadpool 2.” If nothing else I suppose it proves a PG-13 Deadpool movie has some potential. The highlight here is all the Fred Savage stuff. These scenes are definitely worth watching, but unless you loved “Deadpool 2,” I don’t see the need to sit through everything else.

“Once Upon a Deadpool” score: B

Black Widow #1 Review

BLACK WIDOW #1
Written by: Jen Soska,  Sylvia Soska
Art by: Flaviano, Veronica Gandini, Joe Caramagna
Edited by: Jake Thomas and Mark Basso
Published by: Marvel Comics

What it’s about…

…AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH HER. Natasha Romanoff was trained to kill. For years now she’s tried to overcome that programming, to side with the angels…to be a hero. And where’d that get her? Killed. By one of the few true friends she allowed herself to have.

Now she’s back from the dead, angry as hell and finding those better angels harder and harder to hear. Jen and Sylvia Soska — the Twisted Twins of horror — join rising artist Flaviano to weave a web of vice, violence and vengeance that will net Natasha the biggest bad men she’s ever faced…or put her back in the ground for good.

What I thought about it…

I had high hopes for the new Back Widow limited series. Natasha Romanoff has been a favorite of mine since she had the short hair and led the Avengers in the 1990s. Over the years I’ve also enjoyed many of her previous series by the likes of Devin Grayson, Mark Waid, and others. However, I found the new Black Widow #1 rather disappointing.

While I appreciate writers Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska take that Natasha is a woman who has to fight back her urge to kill, I’m not sure why she’s still in hiding. Captain America (who guest stars in this issue), knows she’s alive, and plenty of other heroes and villains saw her in Infinity Wars.

So it doesn’t make sense that in this issue, Natasha goes out of her way to disguise who she is. It’s not as if they were fighting Doctor Doom here, just some no-name terrorists and a Captain America impersonator.

Instead of a team-up with Captain America, I would have preferred a Black Widow solo mission where we see she’s having trouble adjusting to being back and having to fight off her killer instinct. Plus I really didn’t need to see Cap admonish her more than once. I’ve never been a fan of Captain America acting like someone’s dad, especially other heroes. Though I must admit, I did like her reply of “You killed me, Steve.”

Meanwhile, Flaviano’s art and Gandini’s colors were an okay match. The art isn’t bad, it has some nice fluidic movement and shows Natasha as one agile hero. I enjoyed the short conversation she has with Cap in the elevator while she’s upside down. But where the art lacks, is in the character’s faces. Natasha looks off, and there are times in this issue where she doesn’t even look like the same person.

If you read the issue, take a look at her face in the elevator scene, then compare it to the way Natasha looks when she arrives in Madripoor. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear they were different people. I guess overall the art in this comic is just inconsistent, and that’s a shame. I might even go as far to say that maybe the best art in Black Widow #1 is the cover by Clayton Crain.

While Black Widow #1 was not for me, I’m sure other people will enjoy it. I just wish Marvel Comics would find a consistent take on Black Widow and a creative team that will Guide Natasha Romanoff into bigger and better things. But at the rate Marvel reboots her series, I probably won’t have to wait long for a new version of the Black widow.

Black Widow #1 score: C

I (sort of) Paid to See That: Body of Evidence (1993)

Half days in the eighth grade were a rare treat. For some reason we only had a three or four half days that year, so most of the kids in my grade took advantage of them. While some of my classmates would get into trouble around town, while my friends and I went to a comic store, eat lunch, and took in a movie.

This became a little bit of a tradition, and in January 1993 we told our parents of our plan to see “Aladdin” on our upcoming half day. In reality, we planned to sneak into the R rated thriller “Body of Evidence.” That’s right, we bought tickets for “Aladdin,” but once our tickets got looked over, we headed into “Body of Evidence” instead.

In case you don’t remember the movie, “Body of Evidence” was directed by Uli Edel and written by Brad Mirman. The film starred Madonna as Rebecca Carlson and Willem Dafoe Frank Dulaney. The supporting cast included the likes of Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, and Julianne Moore. The movie revolved around Rebecca Carlson, an attractive woman who forms a relationship with a famed millionaire. When the man is found dead, Rebecca is in line to inherit the vast majority of his fortune.

Not the most original of plots, but hey, sometimes simple works best. Then again, maybe the filmmakers thought to cast Madonna as the lead and having her get naked was enough of a draw. Anyway, all seems well until suspicion for the man’s death falls squarely on Rebecca’s shoulders, and she’s charged with murder. The district attorney is sure of Rebecca’s guilt and will do whatever it takes t ensure she goes to jail and never sees a penny of the man’s money.

With her freedom in the balance, Rebecca hires Frank Delaney as her defense attorney. Frank is a respected lawyer with a wife and a family. Still, Rebecca’s seductive charms are too difficult for Frank to resist, and soon the two begin an affair. With Frank’s judgment now clouded, Rebecca tells him that she is innocent of the murder, but despite his attraction to her, Frank doesn’t trust Rebecca. Maybe it’s all the mind games she plays with him, or maybe he doesn’t trust her because Madonna cannot act and looked guilty even when we’re supposed to feel bad for her. Either way, good old Willem Defoe is in a deep heap of trouble!

To say that we all laughed throughout “Body of Evidence,” would be an understatement. We laughed because the movie takes itself so seriously that it’s funny. I get that they were going for a “Basic Instinct” tone, but that movie had a strong cast and a compelling story. “Body of Evidence” on the other hand, uses confusion instead of using mystery. The cast too doesn’t compare to “Basic Instinct.” Try as he might, Willem Dafoe couldn’t carry Madonna for almost two hours.

After bombs like “Bloodhounds of Broadway,” “Shanghai Surprise” and “Who’s That Girl?” I’m not sure why Madonna was the first choice to play Rebecca. I would say maybe someone at the studio saw her in “A League of Her Own,” and liked her work there. But “Body of Evidence” would have been deep into production by the time that movie hit theaters. So more than likely, someone at the studio said: “Show her naked 4 or 5 times, that should do the trick.”

“Body of Evidence” also has some weird moments that I thought would lead to something later int the film, but never did. For example: Throughout the trial, Willem Dafoe is reprimanded constantly by the judge. I’m sure there was a reason or this, but I don’t think it was ever explained. In another odd trial moment, when Dafoe is delivering his opening remarks to the jury, the camera focuses on an attractive young female juror.

The shot lasted long enough to let the audience know this woman was important. She gives Dafoe a sexy look. I took it as either she’ll seduce him too, or she’s in the jury to fix it one way or the other. But no, I was wrong. The woman is never mentioned again that I can recall, she turns out to be just an extra trying to grab Dafoe’s attention.

Maybe some stuff got left on the editing room because apparently “Body of Evidence” was originally rated NC-17. I didn’t know this at the time, so maybe that cut of the film had answers to these weird moments.

When my friends and I left the theater, we left disappointed. Even though we laughed our heads off and saw Madonna’s boobs a couple of times, it felt like we just had a couple of hours we’d never get back. While “Basic Instinct” was entertaining in a number of ways, “Body of Evidence” had me wondering who the hell greenlit this thing.

Oh well, thankfully it wasn’t all bad news. At least Willem Dafoe and Julianne Moore went on to bigger and better things after this movie.

 

Comic Flashback: X-Factor #67

On a snowy Saturday afternoon in early 1992, my friend Jason and I ventured out into the raging storm for a much-needed visit to New England Comics. Normally we only made it to the comic store three or four times year, so it was a big deal whenever we had the chance to go.

We even spent the night before making lists of what we wanted to find during our visit. I think we even wrote down stuff we both knew neither one of us could afford at that time.

This time out, Jason’s mom was kind enough to drive us to the New England Comics in Quincy. She dropped us off across from the store and went off to her own thing while Jason and I browsed the comic bins.

One of the many things I had written down on my list was to keep an eye open for X-Factor issues #60-68. The last issues featuring the original X-Factor team. Sadly, I only found X-Factor #67 in the bins. I was happy to see the comic, but I was surprised that it cost $10.00.

That price seemed extremely high for a comic that was only a few months old. It wasn’t even the final issue with the original team, but it did feature art by Whilce Portacio. That made me guess that perhaps the imminent launch of Image Comics has jacked up the prices on all the books featuring work by the Image guys, but who really knows?

Anyways, X-Factor #67 featured the story “Lunar Opposition!” and guest-starred the Inhumans. The issue was written by Whilce Portacio, Jim Lee, and Chris Claremont. The art chores were by Whilce Portacio and the highly underrated Art Thibert. X-Factor #67 saw the final battle on the moon to decide the future for mutants and mankind. X-Factor and the Inhumans must come together to face the hordes of Apocalypse. To add more intrigue to the story, the battle takes place in the same place where the Phoenix dies.

Along the way, Ship (X-Factor’s HQ) blows up. I was sad to see this happen, as Ship had always been a favorite of mine. Luckily Ship retained the core parts of its systems, but I don’t remember if Ship was ever mentioned again after this issue. It was also revealed that Askani is from the future, trying to change her past in order to save her present. X-Factor #67 wraps up with a bonus prologue featuring a new villain named Shinobi. Despite his cool intro, I never took Shinobi as a legit threat to the X-Men.

The story in the issue is fine, though at the time I was a little lost since this was part 3 of that particular tale. The real highlight of X-Factor #67 was the art by Whilce Portacio. All the X-Men art teams of this era are remembered, but Portacio is often overlooked. For me, he had the most detailed art our of all them. Whether it’s backgrounds or vehicles, Portacio gave everything a ton of detail. Each of his characters had distinct looks, and his art never looked rushed. In fact, I learned to draw hair by studying his art in Uncanny X-Men.

I read X-Factor #67 in the entrance of New England Comics while Jason finished his shopping. From there were walked up Hancock Street to a Dunkin’ Donuts. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather, Dunkin’ Donuts was packed. Worse yet, they were out of chocolate donuts. Left with no other option, Jason and I walked next door to a Baskin-Robbins.

This wasn’t a great day for ice cream, but at least they hadn’t run out of it. But they had run out of tables, so Jason and I ended up sitting on a bench between the Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts. Whenever someone would walk by they would look at us, probably wondering why these two idiots were eating ice cream in the middle of a snowstorm.

All in all, it was a fun day. The storm made it even more memorable, and the ice cream bit was unexpected, to say the least. And I found a comic I really wanted, and even if I overpaid,  . I was glad to have it in my collection. Jason and I even got pizza from Papa Ginos afterward. As I said, this was a good day.

Film Guff Podcast Episode 35: “Twenty Eight Teen”

If you check your phone or a calendar, you will notice it’s already mid-January and Christmas is 49 weeks away. Mid January also means Film Guff’s Ali, Cev and Nick are finally sober enough after the New Year’s festivities to record a new podcast. Well. Ali and Cev are sober for sure, I’m not that convinced Nick is.

Anyway, in Film Guff Episode 35, the three compadres reflect on the cream of the crop that 2018 had to offer. Each host discusses their top movies and Ali and Cev even includes some older movies they discovered in 2018. If that wasn’t enough for you, well the hosts set their resolutions for the next twelve months. Which they’ve probably broken by the time I write this.

As usual, Film Guff is hosted by future X-Factor hosts, Ali and Cev. They’re joined on this side of the Atlantic by the Grinch of New England and TNU’s own, Nick Jones. This episode of Film Guff comes with a friendly warning that this podcast comes with strong language and zombies. But surprisingly enough, most of the bad language doesn’t come from Nick for a change.

Film Guff is edited by Cevin Moore
Music: “Asteroid (A Corruption)” By Peter & Cevin Moore
Info: filmguff.net
Twitter @FilmGuff

Movie Flashback: Varsity Blues

“Varsity Blues” was not your average feel-good sports movie. Released twenty years ago this week, the movie gave people outside of Texas a look what high school football is like in that state.

Sure, plenty of stuff in the movie was probably exaggerated for dramatic purposes. But “Varsity Blues” came along before “Friday Night Lights” become a hit, and during an era where teen movies were always comedies and typically ended at the prom. So a movie like “Varsity Blues” was definitely something new and fresh for audiences.

I wish I could say I had pleasant memories of going to the theater to see “Varsity Blues,” but the movie came out during a rough patch between my then girlfriend Kristen and I. Things had been boiling over since the holidays with constant arguing and her accusing me of everything except President Kennedy’s assassination. It also didn’t help matters that we worked together and clashed there too. But when she suggested we take in dinner and a movie, I eagerly agreed hoping maybe I could fix things with her.

However, I was a little surprised when she chose “Varsity Blues.” Kristen was many things, but a sports fan she certainly was not. But my surprise went away when I realized the character named Mox was played by James Van Der Beek of TV’s “Dawson’s Creek,” a show she loved. Kristen had a big crush on Van Der Beek which didn’t bother me, but when I foolishly mentioned that I thought Amy Smart (Jules Harbor, Mox’s girlfriend) was cute, she threw popcorn at me.

Anyways, as I sat in the theater, I couldn’t stop thinking about the issues between us. Probably didn’t help that much of “Varsity Blues” is about conflict. The central struggle is between Mox and head coach Kilmer (Jon Voight). Kilmer is a by the book coach who owns two state titles and 22 district championships in 30 years. Now he wants the 23rd, and he doesn’t want a hotshot player like James Van Der Beek to detail that plan.

Mox has to deal with more conflict at home with his family. This was an interesting plotline, but I have to admit that at times I found hard to watch, maybe due to troubles in my own life at the time. But an early scene between Amy Smart and Van Der Beek should have told me all that I needed to know. The couple was tired of this town, their parents, their friends, and football. And seeing all the bull crap they had to deal with, I can’t say I blame them.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I kept thinking about how my girlfriend had changed over the last few weeks. Or perhaps it was me who had changed, like a couple of the characters in “Varsity Blues, ” I too spent too much time angry. That was when I started to question if this relationship was healthy for me. I still cared for Kristen, but maybe we both needed a break.

By the time Nox became disgusted by coach Kilmer’s behavior and he starts calling his own plays on the field, I thought maybe the two of us should have a serious talk after the movie. Then I was distracted when Mox takes his teammates to a strip club. As I recall, the group recognized one of the dancers, and I think it was one of their teachers. That’s when Kristen sarcastically asked if I liked that girl too. I ignored the question and tried to focus on the movie.

Luckily there was enough stuff in “Varsity Blues” to distract me for a few minutes at least. I remember one of the supporting characters founded a cult by the end of the movie, which still seems so random for a high school football movie. But I found it amusing.

There was also Ali Larter as Darcy Sears. She played the girlfriend of another player and the head cheerleader of the school. Darcy was the most popular girl in school, and she got the attention of every guy in the theater when she shows up in a whipped cream bikini. I guess my date noticed my reaction because later that night she tried to re-created this scene. Little did she know I hate whipped cream, haha.

If all of this makes it sound as if “Varsity Blues” is a good movie, you’re only half right. Parts of the movie are rather good like the football sequences. But the more dramatic parts never quite came together.

Some of that might be due to some casting choices. But acting wise, Van Der Beek is convincing enough and likable for the most part. Jon Voight, on the other hand, is more or less playing his cranky self in this movie. As for me and Kristen, you’ll have to wait until my valentine’s day post to find out what happened there.