Top 5 Christopher Nolan movies

Christopher Nolan is the greatest contemporary director in Hollywood today (http://bit.ly/1NZyz1d).  He has been known for his psychological thrillers and crazy plot twists.  While he has developed a cult of fan boys, my stance is pretty simple:  I am a fan of good movies and Nolan makes good movies.  With his lowest rotten tomato score being a 76, he can back up the claim that he has some of the greatest work of the last 15 years.

 

#5:  The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige focuses on two rival magicians that are willing to risk their entire lives to see the other one fail.  Featuring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson, The Prestige has a star-studded cast that play perfectly off of each other.  This movie is known for its triple plot twist at the end of the movie.  Viewers left the theaters and were in shock.  They tried to wrap their head around how they couldn’t see the twists coming but were amazed at the same time.

 

#4:  Memento (2000)

This is the movie that put Christopher Nolan on the map.  The movie follows a detective (Guy Pearce) who cannot form new memories.  He leaves a huge list of clues behind as he tries to piece together who murdered his wife.  The psychological thriller has multiple plot twists and keeps viewers on their toes.  It is one of the best debut movies for directors and remains a huge cult classic.

 

#3:  The Dark Knight (2008)

Wow it hurts to put The Dark Knight at number three but that’s how great Nolan is.  This movie moved him from a solid director to one of the best directors today.  Heath Ledger gave one of the greatest acting performances of all-time with his role as the Joker (just watch how perfect this scene is:  http://bit.ly/1DPXXFi).  Nobody had ever done something like this before and Jared Leto will have a difficult time matching it in Suicide Squad.  Marvel may have beaten DC with the shared universe, but DC still has the best superhero movie ever with The Dark Knight.

 

#2:  Inception (2010)

This movie created the modern trailer.  Almost every preview you see for movies now follows the sequence and includes the “bwah”s that were first shown in Inception.  This mind-bender is a must-see for everybody, movie fan or not.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tom Hardy’s chemistry mixed perfectly together as they helped create one of the best movies of all-time.  The dedication to realism is insane (instead of using green screens, he built a 150-foot hotel wing put on a rotation machine in this scene:  http://bit.ly/1FI2R4Y).  Nolan’s attention to detail makes the movie seem even more realistic and crazy.

 

Honorable Mention:

Insomnia (2002)

Batman Begins (2005)

 

#1:  Interstellar (2014)

This movie is perfect.  It is a complex scientific movie that completely holds up when tested (unlike Gravity which fell apart as soon as somebody looked at it).  The movie stars Matthew McConaughey as a pilot in the future that teams up with three astronauts in an attempt to find a new planet for humanity to colonize.  As time goes on, they feel pressured as Earth’s natural resources begin to run out.  The movie is a technical masterpiece (check out the wormhole scene: http://bit.ly/1FI3Sdf) and explores so many scientific theories. It is a must see and was the most polarizing movie of last year.

 

Which director/actor should I do next?  Let me know who you want to see.

Top 50 Movies of All-Time: Recap and Fun Facts

I can never just finish something and move on (kinda like Peter Jackson).  Now that I have finished my list of my Top 50 movies, I found a few “interesting facts” and connections that are pretty cool.  For those of you who haven’t read my top 50 posts, I’ll list them below:

Honorable Mentions:

The Immigrant

Toy Story 2

Better off Dead

Star Wars (II):  Attack of the Clones

Angels in the Outfield

Field of Dreams

Monty Python

The Lion King

Man of Steel

Dr. Strangelove

#50:  Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

#49:  12 Angry Men

#48:  UHF

#47:  Toy Story

#46:  Facing the Giants

#45:  Wreck-It Ralph

#44:  22 Jump Street

#43:  Moneyball

#42:  Anchorman

#41:  World War Z

#40:  The Dark Knight Rises

#39:  Boyhood

#38:  Glory Road

#37:  Star Wars (III):  Revenge of the Sith

#36:  Toy Story 3

#35:  The Prestige

#34:  American Beauty

#33:  Airplane!

#32:  Saving Mr. Banks

#31:  Captain Phillips

#30:  The LEGO Movie

#29:  It’s a Wonderful Life

#28:  Star Wars (VI):  Return of the Jedi

#27:  All the President’s Men

#26:  The Social Network

#25:  Captain America: The First Avenger

#24:  Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers

#23:  The Naked Gun

#22:  Iron Man

#21:  Silver Linings Playbook

#20:  The Princess Bride

#19:  Major League

#18:  Nightcrawler

#17:  Zero Dark Thirty

#16:  The Imitation Game

#15:  The Avengers

#14:  American Sniper

#13:  Now You See Me

#12:  Birdman

#11:  Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring

#10:  American Hustle

#9:  Argo

#8:  Star Wars (IV):  A New Hope

#7:  Schindler’s List

#6:  Whiplash

#5:  The Dark Knight

#4:  Lord of the Rings:  Return of the King

#3:  Star Wars (V):  The Empire Strikes Back

#2:  Inception

#1:  Interstellar

Okay, now that we are done with that, I went through every movie and listed the year that they were released.  While a lot of years had one or two movies, there were six years that had three or more movies released.  Here they are:

1989: 3 (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, UHF, and Major League)

It was definitely a great year for comedy movies in 89!

2006: 3 (Facing the Giants, Glory Road, and The Prestige)

2006 saw a lot of strong underrated movies released.

2010: 3 (Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and Inception)

It was a huge year for blockbusters in 2010!

2013: 5 (World War Z, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips, Now You See Me, and American Hustle)

We saw a ton of variety and different concepts in 2013

2012: 6 (Wreck-It Ralph, The Dark Knight Rise, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, The Avengers, and Argo)

I would have hated to have been a member of the Academy and had to vote for the awards in 2012.

2014: 9 (22 Jump Street, Boyhood, The LEGO Movie, Nightcrawler, The Imitation Game, American Sniper, Birdman,                       Whiplash, and Interstellar)

I feel like 30 years from now 2014 is going to be remembered as a “1989.”  So many great movies came out last year          that didn’t even make the list.  It will be a long time before a year will produce as many memorable films as 2014.

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I also saw a link between a lot of actors that were in each of my movies.  Here is a list of each actor who was in at least three of the movies on my top 50:

First to cross off the obvious-

Everybody from the original Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogies (simple enough)

Chris Pratt: 3 (Moneyball, The LEGO Movie, Zero Dark Thirty)

Although he was only the star in one of these movies, Pratt is definitely a rising star in the movie industry.  He gave            great performances in all three of these movies along with Guardians of the Galaxy and Parks and Rec.  We’ll be                seeing a great deal of him in the future as he stars in Jurassic World and the Indiana Jones reboot.

Bradley Cooper:  3 (Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper, American Hustle)

Over the last few years, Bradley Cooper has changed his image from the sexy funny guy to a serious Hollywood                  actor.  His great performances are one of the reasons all three of those movies are on the Top 50 list.  I can’t wait to          see what he has in store next.

Tom Hanks:  4 (Toy Story, Toy Story 3, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips)

Tom Hanks has been a star in Hollywood for a long time.  His performances in all four movies were spot on.  He has            been in the industry for a long time but does not intend on slowing down any time soon.  Whether it is a fun kids                movie like Toy Story or more adult movies like Forrest Gump, Hanks has been a solid actor in everything he has                  done.

Christian Bale:  4 (The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige, American Hustle, The Dark Knight)

Christian Bale is one of the best method actors out there.  Although he has well-documented antics from his time                with Terminator Salvation, Bale is definitely a great actor.  He has been working with Christopher Nolan for both                  the Dark Knight trilogy and The Prestige but Bale was also a member of the star-studded American Hustle.

I have been a fan of all of these actors for a while and I guess it makes sense that they are reflected in my Top 50. Did you guys notice any oddities from my list or weird stats?  Let me know what you think.

Top 50 Movies of All-Time (#10-1)

Here we go! The final part of my Top 50 movies of All-Time series.  Make sure to catch up on the 40 movies leading up to this!

Honorable Mention:  http://t.co/v85d8L17a9

#50-41:  http://t.co/J9gALKkZpc

#40-31:  http://t.co/S3IgVOVBG3

#30-21:  http://bit.ly/17ZYgPc

#20-11:  http://bit.ly/1ATYtu6

Without further ado, here are the top 10 movies out there:

#10:  American Hustle (2013)

David O. Russell struck gold for the second year in a row with American Hustle.  After being nominated for Best Director with Silver Linings Playbook the year before, Russell earned another nomination during the 86^th Academy Awards.  This movie set the record for most Oscar nominations ever with 10 but somehow managed to not win a single one.  Loosely based on a true story, American Hustle is an amazing movie with a star-studded cast:  Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jeremy Renner.  It doesn’t get much better than American Hustle.

#9:  Argo (2012)

The winner of Best Picture during the 2013 Oscars, Argo was a brilliant historical movie telling the unknown story of six embassy workers that escaped during the Iran Hostage Crisis.  They were able to seek refuge with the Canadian ambassador, but the Iranians started getting suspicious.  Portraying CIA agent Tony Mendez, Ben Affleck helps orchestrate a plan to film a fake movie in Tehran in an attempt to bring everybody back to the United States.  The movie is highly suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat.  While I may not be a huge fan of Affleck, he did a great job directing and starring in Argo.

#8:  Star Wars (IV):  A New Hope (1977)

This movie completely changed American cinema.  When George Lucas released his first Star Wars movie, everybody thought it was going to be a complete joke until they went to the theater.  Audiences around the world were stunned by the visual effects that were decades ahead of its time.  We would not have the visual masterpieces we have today without Lucas’ willingness to take a risk with Star Wars  As a huge part of pop-culture, there is no question as to why New Hope cracked the top 10.

#7:  Schindler’s List (1993)

This Steven Spielberg classic brought the story of Oskar Schindler to the masses.  Few people knew the lengths Schindler went to in order to protect Jews during the Holocaust.  A revered businessman, Schindler risked everything he had and saved over 1000 Jewish lives.  Liam Neeson gave a spectacular performance in the black-and-white movie that shows some of the most brutal actions ever done by human beings.  Here is a brilliantly created scene where Schindler is discussing the true meaning of power with a Nazi general:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5lQA3bipHc  Schindler’s List is a must-see for anybody who calls themselves a movie expert.

#6:  Whiplash (2014)

Although I gave Birdman the movie of the year when giving out my movie awards, Whiplash has grown on me over the last few months.  J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller give two of the best performances I have ever seen (aside from Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance in Nightcrawler)—Teller even taught himself how to become an expert at the drums just to take the role.  Look at the beautiful chemistry as Simmons berates Teller in an effort to get him to improve:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnuImW1dWAk  While it only won three Oscars, Whiplash is definitely one of the better movies from 2014.  That final scene was far and away the most intense final scene I have ever seen in my life.  Who ever thought a movie about a jazz band could become one of the best movies out there?

#5:  The Dark Knight (2008)

The second installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy shocked audiences everywhere.  Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker is the best portrayal of a super villain in existence.  The movie took superhero flicks to a new level by showing the moral quandaries Batman is faced with, primarily:  how long is too long before killing somebody is right if it saves the lives of thousands of others?  We watch the transformation of the shimmering “White Knight” of Gotham, Harvey Dent, descend into madness.  The Dark Knight is the best superhero movie out there and Marvel will have to try pretty hard to ever top DC’s Batman masterpiece.

#4:  Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

The final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the perfecting ending to the second best trilogy out there.  As the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, Return of the King left the show with an armload of Oscars.  While it felt like it was going to end like five different times, the action in Return of the King makes it one of the top five movies in existence.  For those of you who don’t agree, let’s see if Aragorn can change your mind:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXGUNvIFTQw  If  you haven’t already, make sure to check out the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

#3:  Star Wars (V): The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Usually the sequel is not better than the original, but The Empire Strikes Back blew that generalization out of the water.  After a victory in New Hope, the rebels find their backs against the wall as Darth Vader and the rest of the empire unleashes everything they have to put them down.  It is the first time we meet Yoda, the first time Luke fights Darth Vader, and it has the greatest movie plot twist of all-time.  I wish I could travel to the past just to see everybody’s reactions when Vader said, “No, I am your father.”  It still sends shivers down my spin whenever I see it.  Even after removing the nostalgia factor from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back still stands up as the third best movie out there.

#2:  Inception (2010)

Nobody left the theater and had nothing to say about Inception.  Christopher Nolan’s pet project that he had been working on since 2004, Inception solidified Nolan as one of the greatest directors out there today.  Nobody thought that he could follow up The Dark Knight with a movie even more interesting, but he proved them wrong.  A visual, technical, and creative masterpiece was a refreshing original movie in an industry filled with reboots and sequels.  Since Inception, almost every trailer has followed this format with the same music and “bwah””s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM  Nolan’s dedication to his craft has never been more evident except in…

#1:  Interstellar (2014)

There is not a person out there who thought Interstellar was just “okay.”  This movie was either terrible or the best movie out there and I guess you can see where I land on it.  After witnessing Gravity’s success despite being filled with scientific holes, Nolan one-upped the sci-fi movie by delivering even better visuals, a hypothetically perfect scientific explanation, and managing to get great performances from actors who have been known to cheese it up a little bit (I’m looking at you McConaughey).  Even if you thought the movie was trash, it still dwelled on your mind days after you saw it.  I still can’t get it out of my head!  Interstellar was out of this world and had the best visuals I have ever seen in any movie.  I mean look at this:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu4sinVuK14  That wormhole scene is one of the most beautiful technical pieces out there.  The fact that it did not get more love at the Oscars is nothing short of criminal.  Nolan took a huge risk with Interstellar and it paid off by giving him the distinction of having created the best movie ever.

How far off was my top 50?  What are your favorite 10 movies?  Let me know how much you agree or disagree.

Top 50 Movies of All-Time (#40-31)

For my next installment of the 50 greatest movies I have ever seen, I will be listing numbers 40 through 31.  If you haven’t already, make sure to check out my honorable mentions and #50-41 below.

Honorable mention: https://cinemastickler.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/top-50-movies-of-all-time-the-honorable-mentions/

#50-41:  https://cinemastickler.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/top-50-movies-of-all-time-50-41/

Now that we are all caught up, here are some of the top 40 movies out there:

#40:  The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises had a few interesting twists that made it a really solid movie.  Although he was hard to understand, Tom Hardy gave a great performance as Bane.  The star cast of Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Marion Cotillard help anchor the movie.  Plus, it has one of the greatest opening sequences of all-time:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRCM0jWEQjQ

#39:  Boyhood (2014)

Richard Linklater’s 12 year project surprisingly only walked away with one Oscar in 2015. Following the story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as he grows up from six years old to a college student, Boyhood was a huge indie project that attracted a ton of attention this year.  Make sure to check it out!

#38:  Glory Road (2006)

The historical movie depicting the first all-black starting five of a college basketball team, Glory Road follows the 1966 Texas Western team that won the NCAA tournament.  An extremely underrated movie, it is one of the best sports movies out there.  We watch how the team overcame racism, personal issues, and being severely underrated.  It is the perfect movie for sports and history fans alike.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZZS2IwzMFU

#37:  Star Wars (III):  Revenge of the Sith (2005)

While you won’t see all of the Star Wars sage in the top 50, Revenge of the Sith is the first one to crack the list.  The last movie in George Lucas’ series, Revenge of the Sith bridged the gap between the new trilogy and the old one.  Nobody is forgetting that intense fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan on Mustafar.  That has to be one of the best choreographed scenes in movie history (it is not sped up or anything!):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b_i9K0BNAc

#36:  Toy Story 3 (2010)

The best of the three Toy Story movies, this movie perfectly wrapped up the trilogy (even if Pixar is making a money-grab fourth one).  We laughed, cried, and felt nostalgic throughout the entire viewing.  It is definitely one of the best 40 movies out there.

#35:  The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige is one of Nolan’s most underrated movies.  It is a story of two dueling magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) in the early 20th century.  We watch the two continuously try to one-up the other one.  While Nolan has been known for throwing in plot twists, this movie has a triple plot twist at the end.

#34:  American Beauty (1999)

The Best Picture winner of the 72nd Academy Awards, American Beauty is a great film that makes you question materialism, self-liberation, and paternal love.  Kevin Spacey, who won the Oscar for Best Actor, plays a suburban dad named Lester Burnham.  After he grows tired of his family’s boring life, he decides to serve nothing but himself.  We watch his the family start getting annoyed by each other as they are egged on by their next door neighbor’s mysterious son.

#33:  Airplane! (1980)

As one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, Airplane! is one of the best cult comedies out there. It is the movie credited with turning Leslie Nielsen from a serious actor into his well-known deadpan comedy role.  It is also where the famous phrase, “I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley came from.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A5t5_O8hdA

#32:  Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

I watched this movie on a plane and honestly didn’t have high expectations for it.  When I did see it, I was blown away.  The movie depicts the true story of Walt Disney trying to acquire the rights to make a Mary Poppins movie.  It took him almost 20 years of dedicated pushing and urging, but we all know how it turned out.  Tom Hanks gives a tremendous performance as Disney while Emma Thompson portrays author P.L. Travers.  This spoon full of sugar is a great historical and emotional movie.

#31:  Captain Phillips (2013)

The second straight Tom Hanks movie on the list, Captain Phillips is a great movie that is based on the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship in 2009.  In order to keep his crew safe, Richard Phillips offered himself as a hostage for the Somali pirates who attacked the ship.  After spending about two intense days with the pirates, the Navy SEALS attempt an extraction plan to try and save Phillip’s life.  It is an intense movie that kept me sweating on the edge of my seat the entire time and a must-see for thriller fans.

Top 5 Contemporary Movie Directors

The movie industry is constantly growing and changing.  One moment you can be the top of the A-listers, the next you are completely irrelevant.  Here is a list of the top five contemporary movie directors.  To be considered a contemporary movie director, you cannot have directed a feature-length movie before 1990 (sorry Spielberg, but I wanted to keep it competitive). You should be able to recognize at least one or two of their movies that have come out in the last 25 years.  Without further ado, here are the best of the new wave of Hollywood Directors:

#5: Quentin Tarantino

Best Movies:  Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Django Unchained

I will admit a little bit of bias here.  Personally, I am not a big Tarantino fan.  I do, however, understand that he does have a ton of fans out there and it would be almost criminal to exclude him simply because I don’t like excess violence.  Tarantino directed his first big movie in 1992 when he released Reservoir Dogs.  He instantly became a cult favorite as he released his most recognizable movie, Pulp Fiction, just a few years later.

Tarantino is known for his stylized violence and occasionally going a little over the top in his movies.  He has definitely garnered a huge fan base as he works on his next project The Hateful Eight that is set to drop in 2017.

#4:  Joss Whedon

Best Movies:  The Avengers, Serenity

Known for his great work in television, Whedon has recently made the transition to the big screen.  The mind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, Whedon showed his commitment to his work before directing the culmination of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in The Avengers.

Firefly fans are left wondering what could have been had Fox not cancelled the series so soon after its release.  While it was nice to get the wrap up with Serenity, Whedon’s legacy could have been extended even further had Firefly been a cultural mainstay.

#3:  David O. Russell

Best Movies: American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, Anchorman, The Fighter

David O. Russell is one of the most underrated of the new generation.  He has already been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times in the past five years.  He was a potential favorite for the 2013 and 2014 Oscars for his work with Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle–two of the best movies of their respective years.

With his new movie Accidental Love set to come out in theaters later this month, we will have to wait and see if O. Russel can finally win his first Oscar.

#2:  David Fincher

Best Movies:  Gone Girl, The Social Network, Seven, Fight Club

Fincher has been known for directing darker movies (he even filters out a ton of the light from each of his films).  Thrillers like Seven, Panic Room, Zodiac, and Gone Girl have propelled him to national recognition.  His Facebook biopic The Social Network earned him a nomination for the Oscar Best Director.  While Fincher has never won an Oscar, he will definitely have a few by time he steps down.  Also behind movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Fincher has shown that he has a wide range of directing talent.

Fincher has also dabbled in television.  He got Netflix’s House of Cards off the ground by directing the first season before signing a deal with HBO to direct three new TV shows.  We have only seen the beginning of Fincher’s career and I cannot wait to see the rest of what he has to offer.

Honorable Mention:

J.J. Abrams

Ang Lee

Zach Snyder

Michael Bay (just kidding)

#1:  Christopher Nolan

Best Movies:  The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento, Interstellar

Nolan has stolen the directing scene of the 2000s.  His breakthrough came with his second movie:  Memento.  Shortly after the movie industry saw his potential, he was offered the role as director of Batman Begins.  From there, Nolan has skyrocketed his career with the gritty The Dark Knight, mind-bending Inception, and visually stunning Interstellar.  While all three of those movies were some of the best of their respective year, Nolan has never been nominated for a Best Director Oscar.  I think he is in the same camp as Leonardo DiCaprio for best members of the movie industry to never win an Oscar.

While I understand that it is hard to win an Oscar, the fact that Nolan has never even been nominated is quite disturbing. He has taken a unique perspective on directing.  He hates using CGI, green screens, and 3D.  A famous scene in Inception shows Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character fighting in a hotel within a dream.  He is actually in a car so the hotel spins as the car moves.  Instead of using special effects, he funded the creation of a 100-foot long hotel wing to be built on a rotating scale to make it more realistic.

Here is the hotel scene:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvDba2nMv_U

Here is Nolan and Gordon-Levitt’s description of building the hotel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PhiSSnaUKk

Nolan also managed to film Interstellar without using a single green screen (computer monitors that reflected space were placed inside the ship).  In The Dark Knight Rises opening plane crash scene (watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNUSDu-Tehg), Nolan legitimately had a plane crashed and filmed the scene in the air (actors had hidden safety parachutes).

It is dedication to his craft like this that makes Christopher Nolan the best of this new generation of directors.

Who is your favorite contemporary director?  Do you hate Nolan films?  Let me know what you think.

2015 Oscar Preview

With the Oscars only a couple of days away, here are my official picks for the awards.  A lot of them may be similar to my 2014 Naties Movie Awards, but to ensure that I don’t completely rely on them, I will be saying who I think will win, should win, the dark horse, and is missing for each award.  I will not do every single award (sorry I haven’t seen all of those foreign films or documentaries), but I will make sure to cover all of the bigger ones.  I have seen just about every big movie from 2014, however, and would consider myself pretty qualified to hand out the awards.

Best Picture

Who Will Win:  Boyhood

Who Should Win:  Birdman

The Dark Horse:  American Sniper

Who’s Missing:  Nightcrawler

While there has been a big public push for American Sniper to win the award, I am not 100% convinced that the Academy agrees.  Based on the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, we will most likely see Richard Linklater’s 12-year masterpiece walk home with the big trophy.  While there is nothing wrong with Boyhood winning, I do believe that Birdman should win.  Although I was not a fan of the movie at all, The Grand Budapest Hotel is also in the running to sneak up and steal the award.

Best Actor

Who Will Win:  Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Who Should Win:  Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

The Dark Horse:  Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Who’s Missing:  Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)

The Best Actor award could be one of the most competitive awards of the year.  While I wholeheartedly believe that Gyllenhaal should win the award and am stunned that he wasn’t nominated, I think that Cooper gave the best acting job of those nominated.  When referring to characters in a movie, I usually just mention the actor’s name; however, Cooper did such a great job that I referred to him as Chris Kyle when discussing the movie.  He did an amazing job of making us forget that it wasn’t actually Kyle on the screen.  The Academy has hinted that they are pulling for Keaton.  Although he did do a pretty great job, I just don’t feel that he was the best actor of 2014.  Watch out for Redmayne, though.  After he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, he could ride the momentum to an Oscar win.

Best Actress

Who Will Win: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Who Should Win: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

The Dark Horse: Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Who’s Missing:  Amy Adams (Big Eyes)

While I admit that I have not seen Still Alice, I have read an extensive number reviews on the movie and Moore’s performance.  After winning both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, Moore is definitely the favorite to walk home with the hardware.  She should watch out for Jones.  There has been talk of Jones just missing out on both of the previous awards and she could cause havoc for Moore by stealing the Oscar.  Pike should not be discounted either after her brilliant performance in Gone Girl.  Adams may have won two straight Golden Globes, but she will not be walking away with an Oscar this year, despite her powerful performance in Big Eyes.

Best Director

Who Will Win:  Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Who Should Win:  Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

The Dark Horse:  Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Who’s Missing:  Christopher Nolan (Interstellar)

I don’t care what you thought of Boyhood; Linklater deserves the Oscar after dedicating the last 12 years of his life to the movie.  While I am sure that the Academy will recognize that and give him the award, there seems to be some strange love for The Grand Budapest Hotel (I still don’t get it), so if Anderson’s name is called instead of Linklater’s, I wouldn’t be totally surprised.  I am still kind of shocked that Nolan has never been nominated for an Oscar.  He is like the DiCaprio of directors.  While some people may not hold Interstellar in the same light as some of these other movies, which they should but that’s a post for a different day, Nolan has created multiple blockbusters that should have earned him at least a nomination.

Best Supporting Actor

Who Will Win:  J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Who Should Win:  J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

The Dark Horse:  Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

Who’s Missing:  Nobody

The Academy actually nailed this one pretty well on the head.  While I would be absolutely stunned if anybody but Simmons walked away with the award, Ruffalo, Edward Norton (Birdman), and Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) all gave solid performances in their respective movies.  If Simmons doesn’t win, watch for Ruffalo to sneak in for his role in Foxcatcher.

Best Supporting Actress

Who Will Win: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Who Should Win: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

The Dark Horse: Emma Stone (Birdman)

Who’s Missing:  Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)

Arquette was the winner of my 2014 Natie Award for Best Female Performance and is definitely the front runner for the Oscar.  She did an amazing job along side Ellar Coltrane and Hawke.  That being said, watch out for Stone and Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game) who both gave stellar performances in 2014 as well.  I never saw A Most Violent Year but remember hearing an uproar when Laura Dern (Wild) was given a nomination over Chastain.  It was a pretty solid year for her, she also did a pretty great job in Interstellar, and it’s a shame that Chastain won’t get recognition for it with an Oscar.

Best Animated Feature

Who Will Win: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Who Should Win:  Big Hero 6

The Dark Horse:  The Box Trolls

Who’s Missing:  The Lego Movie

Personally, I am not a big fan of animation movies.  When I saw The Lego Movie, however, I instantly thought, “well that is definitely going to win an Oscar.”  In my opinion, The Lego Movie is the biggest snub of the 2015 Oscars.  Everything about this movie was awesome.  While I know it will be a pretty intense race between How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Big Hero 6 (just became the third highest grossing Disney animation of all-time and is about to surpass Frozen), The Box Trolls does stand an outside chance.

Best Original Score

Who Will Win:  Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Who Should Win:  Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)

The Dark Horse:  Johann Johannson (The Theory of Everything)

Who’s Missing:  Justin Hurwitz (Whiplash)

Once again, I have a sinking feeling that this crazy love for The Grand Budapest Hotel will show its ugly head by bringing home the award for Best Original Score.  I feel like Zimmer’s brilliant score for Interstellar is leaps and bounds better, but Johannson already won the Golden Globe for the category.  While it is nice to see someone like Johannson win the Globe, I honestly don’t remember the score of The Theory of Everything being that memorable.  It was definitely nothing compared to Interstellar‘s.  Hopefully, I will be pleasantly surprised by a win for Zimmer, but I am not holding out for it.  Plus, how does a movie about music not get nominated for Best Original Score?  I though Hurwitz did a pretty outstanding job with Whiplash.

Best Visual Effects

Who Will Win:  Interstellar

Who Should Win:  Interstellar

The Dark Horse:  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Who’s Missing:  Birdman

Interstellar blew audiences away with its visual effects and never used one green screen in the entire production.  Through Nolan’s want to make sure the entire movie appeared authentic, scientists actually discovered what a black hole should look like, completely changing how they thought it would appear.  The movie is a visual masterpiece but could be rivaled by the motion capture of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Lord of the Rings) has been doing motion capture for a long time, but it was moved one step further in Apes.  The majority of the cast worked as gorillas and spent weeks studying their movements so they could copy them.  Birdman appeared as if the movie had been shot all at once and definitely deserved recognition for its technical work, but at the end of the day, the award is Interstellar‘s to lose.

Be sure to tune in at 8:30 PM this Sunday to watch the Oscars.  For those of you who won’t be able to watch it, I will be live tweeting it, so following me on Twitter @DiscavageSavage and keep up with the awards from there.  Will I be right or completely blow it?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Top 5 Movie Trailers of All-Time

Movie trailers are the main reason people hear about upcoming movies.  I don’t know about you guys, but I love watching the previews before movies almost as much as I love watching the movie.  Here are the five most interesting captivating trailers of all-time:

#5:  Man of Steel Nokia Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejXjZ-k6Myc

Before the release of the Nokia trailer, Man of Steel‘s trailers had been pretty subpar.  This one, however, gave us our first real look at the action in the movie.  Russell Crowe’s voice over draws us in before the action hits.  It is also the first time we get to see an extended look at Henry Cavill as the new Superman.  While the movie may have not been the greatest superhero movie ever, this is definitely one of the greatest superhero movie trailers ever.

#4:  World War Z Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwTxRuq-uk

I have not read the book, so when I first saw the trailer for World War Z, I was completely sucked in.  Most zombie movies fall under the horror genre, but this one is definitely an action movie.  Plus, how cool was the scene where the zombies threw themselves against the wall and began scaling it?  After seeing that, I was immediately hooked.

#3: The Dark Knight Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ5U8suTUw0

When Batman Begins ended and we saw the Joker card, fans of the caped crusader could not wait for Christopher Nolan’s next movie.  Fans were rewarded when this trailer for The Dark Knight dropped in theaters.  It was the first time we got to see Heath Ledger as the Joker and hear his maniacal laugh.  We also got to see a reference to the central plot point of Bruce Wayne’s struggle to maintain his identity as Batman and a rich celebrity.  The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies ever created, and its trailer is the best superhero trailer out there.

#2:  Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h-pnKtjDqg

While the art of making a movie trailer has completely changed over the last 10 years, The Two Towers‘ trailer came out in 2002 and was extremely successful.  Peter Jackson created one of the greatest trilogies of all-time (potential future post) when he turned The Lord of the Rings into a movie franchise.  While each of the Lord of the Rings  were amazing, The Two Towers trailer got all Tolkien fans pumped for the second installment of the franchise.

#1:  Inception Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM

This trailer completely changed the way they are created.  Nolan’s second entry on this list added the “bwah”‘s that are heard in every single action trailer now.  The spinning hotel room, intense action scenes, slow-mo van scenes, and beautiful snowy mountain landscape took a movie that nobody was really interested and turned it into one of the most talked about movies of 2010.  The movie definitely lived up to the hype and was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

2014 Nate Discavage Movie Awards (Best Director)

Over the next week, I will be announcing my 2014 Naties Movie Awards. There will be a different award for every day. Here is the first entry for the best director of 2014.

The Nominees:
-Christopher Nolan (Interstellar)
-Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
-Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
– Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)

Opening Remarks:
All five of these directors helped lead five of the best movies of 2014. Nolan once again took audiences on a visual journey in the space epic Interstellar. Linklater dedicated the last 12 years of his life to help Boyhood come to fruition. Gilroy’s Nightcrawler sees Jake Gyllenhaal’s character Lou Bloom decent into insanity as a violent sociopath. Tyldum’s The Imitation Game follows the story of Alan Turning, a man who helped the Allies win the Second World War before setting up the foundation for the modern computer. Inarritu’s Birdman follows an actor’s desperate attempt to move on after being declared irrelevant, while he fights back his inner want to be famous again.

Why should Nolan win?
Nolan has been directing for 15 years and has still yet to create a single flop. Interstellar is his ninth full length movie, and it did not disappoint. It follows a man named Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) in the not-so-distant future where mankind has used up the last of the Earth’s natural resources. Cooper is forced to leave his family behind as he teams up with other NASA astronauts in attempt to find a new planet to colonize. Nolan insisted from the beginning that there would be no green screens while filming. In an attempt to make the cast’s reactions more realistic, he installed computer monitors into the spaceship so the actors and actresses would see what the audience will see. Along with his work helping to coordinate the visuals and music, Nolan created another cinematic masterpiece.

Why should Linklater win?
The movie industry has made several huge advancements from 2002; however, Linklater’s Boyhood still remained a superb movie 12 years after filming began. Although so many things could have gone wrong, Linklater managed to defy Murphy’s Law and create one of the best movies of 2014. Boyhood follows the story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as he grows and matures from a young boy to a college student. He watches and suffers with his mom (Patricia Arquette) as she goes through numerous failed marriages to alcoholics. The audience sees how each event in Mason’s life shapes him into who he is today. Linklater had been planning Boyhood ever since his first major hit Dazed and Confused gave him the start up funds he needed in 1993. After nine years of careful preparation, he began and is now being recognized for his hard work and dedication. While the risks included child actors “aging out,” lack of funds or support, and general disinterest to continue filming at such a slow rate, Linklater’s dedication gave audiences around the world the most realistic growing up story they have ever seen.

Why should Gilroy win?
When people heard a movie called Nightcrawler was going to be released, almost everybody assumed it was going to be another movie in the X-men franchise. What they saw was anything but as they watched a sociopath descend even further into his insanity. Although the movie was aided by a fantastic performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, Gilroy’s original concept of portraying today’s constant need for up-to-the-date information is definitely an award-worthy idea.

Why should Tyldum win?
Before The Imitation Game, few people knew the whole story of World War II hero Alan Turning. Tyldum brought that story to the masses. It follows the group of men who work with Turning who are tasked with breaking the Nazi’s impossible Enigma code. Despite being dislike and under-appreciated by those around him, Turning worked to build a machine that could break the code. Despite what a typical Hollywood movie would do today by ending on a happy note, Tyldum made sure he told the story in full. After the war, he shows Turning’s arrest for homosexual behavior, Turning’s court mandated gene therapy, and Turning’s eventual suicide. Unlike a lot of other historical masterpieces of 2014, Tyldum also made sure to stay completely historically correct in The Imitation Game.

Why should Innaritu win?
Birdman’s success came as a huge surprise. With a couple of strange or questionable trailers, people assumed that it was another superhero movie coming out. Audiences were blown away, however, by this movies view on the human psyche and the constant want of success. Great performances by Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone were all byproducts of Innaritu’s excellent direction. The movie became one of the most recognizable of 2014. In his first major success as a director, Innaritu looks to be named the best director of 2014 for his work.

Winner: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
After winning the Golden Globe and being the projected winner for the Oscar for best director, Linklater is the winner of the 2014 Naties Best Director award. His dedication to the project and excellent casting decisions help cement Boyhood as one of the best films to remember not only 2014 but an entire decade. It was an easily relatable movie that captivated audiences across the world. Only time will tell, but I am confident that Linklater’s success will be remembered for years to come.