The Departed: 2006

I skipped ahead a few years to The Departed because Nate and Ryan asked me to be on their podcast (to be recorded this weekend) Can We Still Be Friends? When the episode is ready, I'll be sure to post it. In the meantime, here are my initial thoughts on the film.

As a mob story set in Boston and involving crooked cops, The Departed is not a film I would normally pick up. Again, watching the Best Picture winners expands my experiences. I have to say that it seems like the Academy of the 1970s enjoyed a good mob story. The 1980s and 1990s didn't have any, so it wasn't until this 2006 film that the members deemed another mob story worthy of the big award. It's not that there weren't options. I checked, and Martin Scorcese's Goodfellas came out in 1990. That film was nominated for Best Picture and five other awards but only won Best Supporting Actor for Joe Pesci. The Departed delivers on the mob story: lots of drugs, violence, and cops that can't quite seem to catch the bad guy.

While the film is over two hours, it didn't feel long. Scorcese's cutting of scenes, switching because the undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the detective who's also a rat (Matt Damon) speeds up the film while also drawing parallels. Both men are nervous multiple times. DiCaprio's acting was impressive. In some scenes, I was nervous that he was going to blow his cover because of all the nonverbal cues he was showing. Besides DiCaprio and Damon, the cast is loaded with strong actors, including Jack Nicholson as the mob boss Frank Costello. Nicholson was the perfect mob boss: the right amount of evilness mixed with arrogance.

I have to say, I'm looking forward to discussing this film with Nate and Ryan. I'm really interested in hearing what they have to say about how this film explores the ideas of heroes and loneliness.

Academy Awards: 2018

After watching last night's Academy Awards, I have a list of films I need to see:

• Coco (best animated picture winner and best song winner, plus it looks so fun)
• The Shape of Water (best picture winner, gotta keep going on this list)
• I, Tonya (best supporting actress went to Alison Janney, the clips make the film look sooooo interesting to someone like me who was obsessed with figure skating when the Harding and Kerrigan conflict happened)
• Foreign Films and Documentaries (again I'm reminded that I'm limited in what I watch)

I still plan to watch Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The hold is set at my library, so whenever that comes, I'll watch Francis McDormand and Sam Rockwell in their Oscar-winning performances.

I have to say, I was glad to see some variety in last night's Oscars as far as not having one film sweep multiple categories. Sure, the diversity in the acting category winners is seriously lacking, but overall, it was good to see many films being honored.

Battle of the Sexes: 2017

Battle of the Sexes didn't even come to my attention until I watched this year's Golden Globes. As the presenters introduced different nominated best pictures, I began checking my local library's catalog to see if any of the films were available. Battle of the Sexes was nominated for best comedy, and it was one of the few available. I placed a hold and waited for my copy.

Having watched the film now, I have to say I'm surprised it was nominated for a best picture award. It's not bad, but it's also nothing special. The film is just fine. I enjoy true stories (or should I say based on true stories) films, and Battle of the Sexes fits that as it's about Billie Jean King (played by Emma Stone) playing Bobby Riggs (played by Steve Carell) to prove that women are just as athletically skilled as men. With great source material, I expected to be excited and entertained by this film. Not so much. Stone wasn't all that great in her role. The make-up and costume departments did a fantastic job with making her look the part of a 1970s tennis player, but her performance lacked depth. I felt like I was watching someone pretend to be someone else instead of embodying that character. Carell was better, but that may be due to casting: he played a goofy guy. It wasn't that different than watching him be Michael Scott from The Office. Then the final tennis tournament was so long. I guess I just don't enjoy watching people play tennis?

The highlight of the film for me was Sarah Silverman's character, Gladys Heldman, a chain-smoking agent who helps Billie Jean organize a women's tennis organization. I love her no-nonsense attitude. And her pushing her tennis players to smoke some cigarettes (because Virginia Slims sponsors their tour) is so 1970s and hilarious.

As for the Oscars, Battle of the Sexes didn't receive any nominations. Not a surprise.