I loved MBTS so much that I watched it a second time since it’s now on demand. I was so pleased that Casey Affleck won the Oscar. He gave a great performance. I tried to catch up on some movies before the Oscars so I watched Moonlight and Jackie on Saturday. Moonlight was excellent and deserved the Oscar. It was groundbreaking in depicting sexuality in this way in the black community. Jackie was good, but not great. Jackie’s voice in real life, but especially in the movie is so distracting. Natalie Portman depicted it pretty authentically, but I still had trouble listening to it. I was glad LaLa Land didn’t win Best Picture. I thought many of the movies in that category were more deserving.
I didn’t see many of the nominated movies (at least not yet), for many of the reasons given. Going to the movie theater is ok; we usually go to dinner somewhere nice beforehand. But if I’m honest, I do prefer pay per view at home, in my comfy sweat pants, a nice glass of Cab, and my sofa or recliner. Hopefully I’ll get the motivation to see a couple more of these films. After all, they were the “best” films this year! I’d particularly like to see Moonlight, Manchester By The Sea, and DH really wants to see Fences.
I love French films, and planned to see Elle. But I read the synopsis, and the subject matter is very disturbing. It’s not just about rape, according to Wikipedia.
SPOILER about Elle (read at your peril):
Supposedly the protagonist is raped, but then begins leaving her doors unlocked as a silent invitation to more rape role play???
@JHS:
I don’t have a problem with anything you’ve posted, as long as you give a spoiler warning. If people read it after that, they can’t complain about what you say.
We also went with my grown kids to see Get Out over the weekend. They loved it. It is a thought provoking horror movie. Very interesting and entertaining.
Oh, great, Nrdsb4. Not. I need to watch that for 90 mins for what enlightenment? (And put dollars in their pockets?)
@lookingforward, that was my initial reaction to the synopsis. I love a good French film, and her peers evidently respected her performance, but…yeah. I was hoping someone who saw it would dispute the Wikipedia take.
@Nrdsb4 If you read up on possible psychological reactions to rape, it actually isn’t too far fetched unfortunately.
Great, now that movie is spoiled, too … 
Wow…I can’t believe Moonlight won Best Picture. I watched it Thursday with great expectations and was disappointed. I really like the beginning of the story and where the movie went from there was a downturn. I was sort of bored after the first 25% was over. At the ending we all looked at each other and said, “that’s it”? As much as I didn’t think LaLa Land was best picture worthy, it was better than this. Of course, it’s all just individual opinions, but this one was all of ours.
I just don’t understand why feel good movies like HF never seem to win.
I took DH to see La La Land tonight. It was my second time and his first. He is a VERY picky film watcher, and he said he really loved it. He said it was unpretentious and he liked how the movie depicted jazz. Of course, we’re biased since our daughter is a jazz pianist. I texted her that we were about to watch the movie, and she texted back, “Yay!!! That makes me happy.” 
Finally saw Moonlight, I thought DH’s reaction was perfect, silence then, “Wow a foreign movie made by an American.”
It’s maddening, episodic, no real plot, a little too arty, there’s time to think about each shot that doesn’t seem to move the action forward, but it’s a slice of America that most of us privileged CCers never see. I have a feeling I’m going to be thinking about it for a while.
We saw Moonlight as well. I found it well crafted and well acted however I wouldn’t put it in my top 3. It didn’t pull me in like some other movies did this year however I watched it on a small screen instead of at the theater which puts it at a bit of a disadvantage.
@doschicos, I think Moonlight is actually what I would call a small screen movie–there’s nothing to be gained from seeing it on a big screen, so you didn’t miss anything.
Like @conmama, I was disappointed with the film. I thought it dragged interminably in its final third–the footage of driving on the highway (was it from Atlanta to Florida?) with one exit sign after another passing by made me feel like the little kid in the backseat asking over and over “Are we almost there?” And while some may have found many of the movie’s themes groundbreaking, after watching all five seasons of HBO’s The Wire, I feel like the subjects of drugged out parents, neglected kids, and drug dealers as community big shots–including gay dealers–have been fully and well explored. So for me, it just wasn’t that new or special, and I won’t remember it a year from now.
I haven’t seen anyone mention that while the character Kevin had a wife and child he claimed to be devoted to, by the end of the movie he seemed about to embark on a relationship with Chiron. I guess the audience was supposed to feel good that Chiron was reconnecting with Kevin and embracing his sexuality, but I just saw Kevin about to cause a world of hurt.
Jimmy Kimmel mentioned in his monologue on his late show that Faye Dunaway got the hell out of there after the SNAFU and hasn’t been heard from since. He said “she wanted nothing to do with any of this.” I think he’s right-I have not read any comments from her or seen anything about her take on the situation in mainstream media.
It seems to have largely blown over. That’s probably good for everyone involved.