totes4totes

can we do these one at a time or do we have to post like all at once

my opinion on 50/50 is that seth rogan is more attractive than JGL

Never Let Me Go I'm a little shocked this movie made it this far. I think it's mostly because I've been carrying it on or pleading for it to be saved. But in this set of noms, it's simultaneously a personally difficult but easy cut to make. Starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Kiera Knightley, Never Let Me Go is a 2010 film based on the 2005 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. (Which is one of my favorite novels by the way. One that touched me really deeply). The film was directed by Mark Romanek with a screenplay by Alex Garland who would go on to direct two of my favorite films of the decade. And I wonder what this movie would have been if he had been the director instead. It's a fine adaptation of a remarkable novel, but because it's a truly great novel, the movie is also very good. But it may only resonate if you've read and loved the novel like I did. For those of you who do not know, the film centers around the love triangle between Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield), and Ruth (Kiera Knightley). Early on in the film, the trio of characters learn that they and their classmates are all actually clones whose purpose in life is to serve as organ donors for the non-clone humans to extend their natural lifespans well past 100 years. Like many of my favorite movies, it deals what it is to be a human when you are not exactly one. I'd suggest watching the movie, but I'd really suggest that you read the novel it's based on first and then watch the movie. Saving: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

save portrait of a lady on fire cut never let me go

NOT Shake It Out which I would have moved on to penultimate round if I wasn't lazy

cut brave

Captain Phillips Choosing between Pariah, Boyhood, and Into the Spider-Verse is difficult but I chose Boyhood to save because I'm counting on @Elliott to save Into the Spider-Verse which is probably the best animated movie of the past decade and the fact that it keeps getting nominated is WTF. Anyway, I chose Boyhood over Pariah because while both are special to me, I saw Boyhood right after I learned that a kid who was my brother's age passed from cancer when he was 16. So a movie about a kid growing up was something that I watched to comfort myself. It's not something I like to talk about because it childhood cancers really suck and it's something that still makes me incredibly emotional despite it being just over six years. Maybe when Boyhood is finally eliminated, I'll say more. Because unfortunately that seems like an inevitability now since Victoria has nominated twice. Anyway, this write-up isn't my impassioned plea to keep Boyhood around until the finals, it's about Captain Phillips. Since I'm apparently just continuing to cut Tom Hanks movies, Captain Phillips is a Tom Hanks movie from 2013. It's a biopic about Captain Richard Phillips and the Maersk Alabama hijacking where Captain Phillips and his crew were taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Guardafui Channel. The movie was well-received and Barkhad Abdi received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the lead Somali pirate Abduwali Muse. Unfortunately for Captain Phillips (and not unfortunate in general) it was competing against the very very good and better Biopic 12 Years a Slave in the more general categories and the less good but technically outstanding Gravity in the technical categories that year at the Academy Awards and won 0 awards despite 6 nominations. Saving Boyhood

Cut Captain Phillips Save Boyhood

What did I do to Victoria

Inherent Vice A just all right movie for Paul Thomas Anderson who has far better films (Boogie Nights, The Master, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and Phantom Thread). But this is kind of right up his alley as a period neo-noir piece that takes place in the 70s. Based on a novel by Thomas Pynchon, the film follows Joaquin Phoenix's character who is an inept stoner PI who is investigating three interrelated cases involving his ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterson) and her new wealthy boyfriend (Eric Roberts). The film also stars Josh Brolin as a Lt. Detective who ends up working with Joaquin Phoenix. The movie received high praise for the performances of Phoenix, Brolin, and Waterson, but its complicated plot was often times found to be frustrating to watch. It did make a lot of "Best of" lists as the year ended but again, I find that Paul Thomas Anderson just has better outputs even in the past decade. It's an interesting film to watch but I think it's about run its course in this rankdown. Saving: Obvious Child

save obvious child cut inherent vice

I’ll choose Science Fiction/Double Feature

Yah. You can take it

save selma or never let me go!

Lol I missed Diana’s post! moving on Survivor/I Will Survive - penultimate Don’t Rain on My Parade Smooth Criminal

Landslide Mine - penultimate Survivor/I Will Survive

There. Has not???? Been a biopic about Billie Jean King or Battle of the Sexes that was made for real theaters?????

wow weird how we are talking about BJK and you try to deflect to the Williams sisters.

FALSE

Imagine. Thinking a movie about Billie Jean King's crusade for equality in women's tennis and women's sport is inessential.

Emma Stone does not have a better performance than this movie.

wow good thing i didn't see this and change my cut/save out of spite.

When Marnie Was There A non-Takahato/Miyazaki movie from Studio Ghibli which unfortunately just means that it's not as good. Still great but just not as good as the what was supposed to be the last Miyazaki movie before he un-retired. Anyway, When Marnie Was There was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi who is a good director but his two works (this and Mary and the Witch's Flower) feel a bit like a pastiche of the best Studio Ghibli works. The film follows a girl named Anna who after suffering an asthma attack brought on by stress and anxiety moves out to live with relatives of her foster mother in some wetlands where she meets a mysterious girl named Marnie. It is there that she learns the truth about her family and the situation that brought her into foster care. Again, it's an overall good movie. There are just better movies and better Studio Ghibli/Animated/Anime movies. Saving: The Wind Rises

THIS CUT DOESN'T SHOW THAT