Oscar nominations are out

Finally saw The Shape of Water last night and while it was a fine, decent movie, it had a lot of failings or inexplicable things -- ya know, beyond the obvious one about the South American river creature who falls in love with a mute woman. I'm just gonna list some impressions, opinions...SPOILER ALERT
* Michael Shannon is a cartoon villain. Why is he such a dick? It's never explained. Also, the general in the movie is a freaking cartoon, too. I get that the entire film requires a suspension of disbelief, but these characters are flat.
* Sally Hawkins' character is immediately attracted to and intrigued by this scary ass monster. Why? There's no set-up, no initial revulsion, no back story to her being attracted to "the other." She just sees the slimy creature and says, "I want that!"
* The two masturbation scenes were gratuitous. As my gf pointed out, those scenes exist merely to engage the male audience. I said they needed a third scene bc I wasn't yet fully engaged.
* The guy who plays Dmitri/Bob -- a terrific actor who also played Arnold Rothstein in "Boardwalk Empire" -- knows his Russian handlers are onto him, and yet he still agrees to just go to the rendezvous point and be killed for no reason
* He gives up "the cleaners" when he knows he's going to die. Why do that? That makes no sense with how his character has previously acted.
* Bruce, Octavia Spencer's husband, is a cartoon character, too. He's a layabout and cowers because Michael Shannon yells at him.
* Richard Perkins basically played a wimpish dunce, but somehow got nominated for this role. He was fine in it, but an Oscar nod?
* The damn finale took place in the rain. I bristle at movies that end with storms. It's cheap theatrics.
* Why wasn't the freaking Monster nominated?
* Hawkins' nomination is well-deserved (though playing a handicapped person is always a good bet to earn Academy attention).
* The cinematography was beautiful.
* The symbolism of the egg was lame.
* It's not a movie I would recommend to others. It was fine, but a total rental.
* I've now seen four of the Best Picture nominees: Darkest Hour, Lady Bird, Dunkirk and The Shape of Water.
* Of those, I would vote for Lady Bird, even with its unearned ending.

 

I've seen all the Best Picture nominees. I don't have a favorite (I do have several least favorites), but I guess Lady Bird would get my vote.

 

Well, we're waiting ... on the least favorites.

 

It didn't hit me how little I've been out to the movies this year until I noticed I've seen only two of the nominated movies -- "Get Out" and "Three Billboards."

 

In alphabetical order: Dunkirk, Phantom Thread and Shape of Water.

 

And the award for worst professional services firm goes to . . .

 

when it happened, people made the biggest freaking deal out of the snafu. A year later, I'd forgotten all about it. I hope it happens again.

 

I really would have liked to have seen "It" get some love, if even in just the technical categories. That's been my favorite movie of the year so far (I haven't seen many of the BP nominees yet).

 

I think I would have liked Dunkirk more if I could have understood more than half of the dialogue.

 

Really enjoyed It, too. Not sure it's Oscar worthy. Maybe makeup for Pennywise. Could have given it an adapted screenplay nod, too. Not exactly an easy book to translate for the screen.

 

Which of the movies should Mrs. Whitman and I try to track down tonight and watch? We were going to go see "The Post," but we wanted to preserve enough time to make love. I tried to start watching "Dunkirk," but after 15 minutes of people carrying injured people I didn't know onto ships, and watching other people I didn't know run away from bullets and onto beaches, I lost my patience.

 

It might have helped, too, if he didn't purposely make all of the male actors look confusingly similar. I guess that's his "thing" though. Well, eff off with that.