We learned this morning the 71st BAFTAs are tonight! BAFTA stands for British Academy Film Awards. It is sometimes an extra clue to the upcoming Oscar awards. This is the second time we have been in London for their awards. Both times by accident. The first time was several years ago at Leicester Square. This year is it being held at the Royal Albert Hall.
Here are a couple shots from today.
Good Morning!!
We started our late winter sojourn in London. Cool comfortable days with chilly nights. Spent Friday getting acquainted with Central London. We went to see the movie Black Panther at the massive Empire Theaters on Leicester Square.
Today it is expected to rain so we will head to the massive Westfield Shopping Center where there are 450 stores, two giant movie complexes and dozens of restaurants.
It is our last day in London. Tomorrow we take our first “Chunnel” to Paris where we have rented an Apartment in the Bastille neighborhood.
Here are some photos from our walk yesterday to the famed Borough Market South of the Thames.
Hi all! We start traveling tomorrow so this might be the last movie reviews for a few weeks. If all goes well, we may see a few movies in the UK but that will be toward the end of our trip in March.
We will plan travel posts as time and connectivity permit.
Cheers! J&J
A Fantastic Woman
This film from Chile is Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Unfortunately, its late release means there will only be a small number of movie goers that will see it before the Oscar ceremony next month.
This film ‘peels the onion’ on the transgender topic in so many ways it is hard to decide where to begin. Written and Directed by Sebastian Lelio, there is grief, prejudice, defiance, hostility, mourning and ultimately, redemption.
Chilean actor Daniela Vega is featured as the transgender Marina Videl. Francisco Reyes plays the love interest. Luis Gnecco plays the brother. Spanish actress Aline Kuppenheim plays the ex-wife. Another 30, mostly Chilean, actors round out the cast.
This film is rated R for language, sexual content, nudity and a disturbing assault. It is not appropriate for young children. Its genre is listed as Art House & International, Drama. The run time is 1 hour, 44 minutes. Spanish with English subtitles.
Rating 
Faces Places
This film is nominated for Best Documentary. It is exceptional and will be our pick in this category. It has been nominated and won in dozens of festivals and industry organizations around the world.
Written and Directed by photographer/muralist JR and Director Agnes Varda. There is a cast of over 20 contributors as themselves and a small army of production staff.
It is the journey through rural France and the creation of dozens of giant murals on dozens of venues. It is extraordinary, visually amazing and spiritually uplifting.
This film is rated PG. The genre is listed as Art House & International, Documentary with a run time of 90 minutes. French with English subtitles. DO NOT miss this one. It is an instant classic.
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Peter Rabbit
This film is loosely based on the Beatrix Potter’s classic children’s book with a couple of big exceptions. There was quite a public stir from parents with children’s food allergies. Others disapproved of Peter Rabbit’s lack of clothes.
That said, in general, the story is marginally funny, occasionally clever, and somewhat charming. Rose Byrne plays the neighbor, Domhnall Gleeson is hilarious as the boyfriend. James Corden plays the voice of Peter. Margot Robbie is Flopsy, Elizabeth Debicki is Mopsy and Daisy Ridley is Cottontail.
This movie is rated PG for some rude humor and action. The genre is listed as Action & Adventure, Animation and Comedy. The running time is 1 hour, 40 minutes. The animation is the highlight.
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Hello to all!
We are pleased to present you with JIM & JOHN’s 2018 Oscar picks for the 90th Academy Awards on March 4. It has been a wild year for movies. Again this year we will be out of the country traveling on Oscar Sunday. This time Evora, Portugal.
Please see our predictions noted in bold type below. Enjoy and do let us know about any parties, prizes or other fun events you may be attending this year.
J&J
NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY – 90TH AWARDS
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Timothée Chalamet in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
Daniel Day-Lewis in PHANTOM THREAD
Daniel Kaluuya in GET OUT
Denzel Washington in ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Willem Dafoe in THE FLORIDA PROJECT
Woody Harrelson in THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Richard Jenkins in THE SHAPE OF WATER
Christopher Plummer in ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Sally Hawkins in THE SHAPE OF WATER
Margot Robbie in I, TONYA
Saoirse Ronan in LADY BIRD
Meryl Streep in THE POST
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Mary J. Blige in MUDBOUND
Lesley Manville in PHANTOM THREAD
Laurie Metcalf in LADY BIRD
Octavia Spencer in THE SHAPE OF WATER
Best animated feature film of the year
THE BOSS BABY Tom McGrath and Ramsey Naito
THE BREADWINNER Nora Twomey and Anthony Leo
FERDINAND Carlos Saldanha and Lori Forte
LOVING VINCENT Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Ivan Mactaggart
DARKEST HOUR Bruno Delbonnel
DUNKIRK Hoyte van Hoytema
MUDBOUND Rachel Morrison
THE SHAPE OF WATER Dan Laustsen
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Jacqueline Durran
DARKEST HOUR Jacqueline Durran
PHANTOM THREAD Mark Bridges
VICTORIA & ABDUL Consolata Boyle
DUNKIRK Christopher Nolan
GET OUT Jordan Peele
LADY BIRD Greta Gerwig
PHANTOM THREAD Paul Thomas Anderson
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL Steve James, Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman
ICARUS Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen
STRONG ISLAND Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes
Best documentary short subject
EDITH+EDDIE Laura Checkoway and Thomas Lee Wright
HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405 Frank Stiefel
KNIFE SKILLS Thomas Lennon
TRAFFIC STOP Kate Davis and David Heilbroner
BABY DRIVER Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos
DUNKIRK Lee Smith
I, TONYA Tatiana S. Riegel
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Jon Gregory
Best foreign language film of the year
A FANTASTIC WOMAN Chile
LOVELESS Russia
ON BODY AND SOUL Hungary
THE SQUARE Sweden
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
VICTORIA & ABDUL Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
WONDER Arjen Tuiten
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
PHANTOM THREAD Jonny Greenwood
THE SHAPE OF WATER Alexandre Desplat
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI John Williams
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Carter Burwell
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Mighty River” from MUDBOUND Music and Lyric by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson
“Mystery Of Love” from CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Music and Lyric by Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from COCO Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“Stand Up For Something” from MARSHALL Music by Diane Warren. Lyric by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane Warren
Best motion picture of the year
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito, Producers
DARKEST HOUR Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten and Douglas Urbanski, Producers
DUNKIRK Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
GET OUT Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele, Producers
LADY BIRD Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O’Neill, Producers
PHANTOM THREAD JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi, Producers
THE POST Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale, Producers
Achievement in production design
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Production Design: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Production Design: Dennis Gassner, Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola
DARKEST HOUR Production Design: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
THE SHAPE OF WATER Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry, Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeffrey A. Melvin
DEAR BASKETBALL Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant
GARDEN PARTY Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon
NEGATIVE SPACE Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
REVOLTING RHYMES Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer
DEKALB ELEMENTARY Reed Van Dyk
THE ELEVEN O’CLOCK Derin Seale and Josh Lawson
THE SILENT CHILD Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton
WATU WOTE/ALL OF US Katja Benrath and Tobias Rosen
BABY DRIVER Julian Slater
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Mark Mangini and Theo Green
THE SHAPE OF WATER Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreira
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce
BABY DRIVER Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin and Mary H. Ellis
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth
THE SHAPE OF WATER Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern and Glen Gauthier
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson
BLADE RUNNER 2049 John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick
KONG: SKULL ISLAND Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist
THE DISASTER ARTIST Screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
LOGAN Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green, Story by James Mangold
MOLLY’S GAME Written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin
MUDBOUND Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
THE BIG SICK Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
GET OUT Written by Jordan Peele
LADY BIRD Written by Greta Gerwig
THE SHAPE OF WATER Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor, Story by Guillermo del Toro
2018 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts
This years entries are decidedly different from the entries in recent years. Adult sensibilities and a little sophistication are featured in the 2018 selection.
Dear Basketball (USA)
Here is a love letter from Kobe Bryant to the world as the basketball legend plans his retirement. The outstanding images were penned by Mr Bryant himself.
Rating 
Garden Party (France)
This most unusual and borderline disturbing imagery is the setting for an amphibian infested villa and the apparent aftermath of some event. It is NOT for children, but it is inventive and creative.
Rating
Lou (USA)
Here a school yard bully gets a lesson from a lost and found box that comes to life. It is clever, charming and features Pixar quality imagery.
Rating
Negative Space (France)
This is one of the most unique shorts in the pack. A little boy learns how to pack a suitcase from his traveling father. The stop motion puppet animation is exceptional, as is the final scene.
Rating
Revolting Rhymes (UK)
The darkest of the shorts is a snarky perspective on Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf and others. It is a brash and dark depiction that is only mildly amusing but the production value is impressive.
Rating
If you were unable to see these films don’t feel alone. The good news is these films are drawing growing audiences every year. The bad news is they are in such limited release, viewers only have between a few days and a few weeks to see these films, depending on the local and regional demographics.
We are not likely to see the Documentary Short Subject releases because of the extremely limited release or the shows here in SF are sold out in advance. (No worries we will still offer our Oscar prediction by mining the industry chatter!)
Live Action Short Subject
The first three are based on actual events!
De Kalb Elementary (USA)
A disturbed male school shooter and a terrified but calm school administrator interact under the stress of a pending school shooting incident. The tension is painful to watch.
Rating
My Nephew Emmett (USA)
This is the story of the hours before the 1955 murder of a black teenager Emmett Till. These performances are superb but gut wrenching to watch.
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Watu Wote/All of Us (Germany)
Set on the border of Kenya and Somalia where Muslim passengers on a bus shield a Christian traveler from terrorists seeking revenge on any Christians. The tension is beyond description.
Rating
The Silent Child (UK)
A five year old British girl is deaf and frustrated until a young student teaches her sign language. The family decides signing is too difficult and the youngster is integrated, and isolated, into a public school. It is touching and beautifully acted.
Rating
The Eleven O’Clock (Austrailia)
This comedy brings a standoff between a psychiatrist and a delusional patient. The question is who is who? The story is quick, thought provoking and sometimes funny. It was also a bit annoying.
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Big Hello everyone!
Our want-to-be famous, or infamous, Oscar picks are in the works for 2018. We’ll publish this years predictions within the next week! Stay tuned…
On a different note, next week we are off to Europe for five weeks. We will do our best to keep in touch and send some snapshots as time and technology allow. Hopefully we will be able to squeeze in a new movie or two!
J&J
Winchester
We were quite surprised to see terrible reviews for this film. This movie is “inspired by actual events” which were fairly accurate since the legendary Winchester House is in San Jose, California. It is a famous and popular tourist attraction. The critics were hateful toward this movie. We loved it!
The film is set in 1906 just before the catastrophic earthquake that leveled large parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area. It is concurrently creepy, intense, suspenseful and dark.
The cast includes Helen Mirren as the widow Sarah Winchester (of the Winchester Gun empire), Jason Clarke is the doctor assessing her sanity, Sarah Snook as Winchester’s niece, and the young Finn Scicluna-O-Prey as the nephew.
The genre is noted as Biography, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, and Thriller. It is rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, drug content, some sexual material and thematic elements. We do not feel this film should be viewed by children. Its running time is 1 hour, 39 minutes.
Rating
Bilal: A New Breed of Hero
This is an interesting new animated release from Dubai based Director and co-writer Khurram Alavi. Apparently based on true events, it is set in the 7th century. The lead character’s first appearance is as a spirited African slave boy who grows into a heroic man who struggles with slavery and injustice until he is sold to a wealthy trader. He is treated like a beloved family member who eventually frees himself from slavery.
This film was first released in 2015 in Arabic. It was re-released today dubbed in English. It now gently and carefully weaves into the screenplay the early history of Islam with the struggle for equality.
It is sometimes brutal, often confusing, sometimes inspiring and yet often gentle and vulnerable. It is rated PG-13 with quite a bit of violence and sometimes brutal adult subject matter. We strongly caution parents regarding viewing by children. The genre is noted as Animation, Action, Adventure. Run time is 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Rating
15:17 to Paris
This film was directed by Clint Eastwood. It tells the story of August 21, 2015 aboard the Thalys (train) #9364 from Amsterdam to Paris. It is the true story where a terrorist attack was thwarted by three young American men.
It’s a great story played by the actual American men involved in the incident. That would explain why the acting lags in an otherwise intriguing story.
The heros are Airman First Class Spencer Stone, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, and college student Anthony Sadler. There are a handful of other actors that play the role of the victims, parents and school chums but the focus is on the experience of the young Americans who intervened and potentially saved hundreds of lives.
It is rated PG-13 for bloody images, violence, suggestive material, drugs and language. The genre is listed as Drama running 2 hours.
Rating
It’s been super busy this week. We flew home last Monday and spent much of the week catching up on errands like paying bills, groceries, social commitments and such. We finally had some down time to edit photos. We hope you will enjoy.
Hawaii Part 2:
Greetings to all! We are back in sunny San Francisco. Our typical warm snap in February came early this year. Yesterday was 75 and clear. It looks like we will enjoy this for another week at least. Yippie!
On the movie front, this is that time of year when the Oscar nominated films get released, or re-released, to capture movie goers that didn’t make it to the oft short releases in December. The only other new releases are the odd, unusual, or quirky films, domestic and foreign, seeking a last minute niche market. Hence our reviews for this week…
Vazante
Have you ever wondered what life was like in remote Brazil in 1821? This is the story about poor white settlers, the slave trade, sexual exploitation and racism. It is filmed in black and white that seems to enhance the bleak setting and subject matter.
It is quite difficult to watch and even more difficult to understand as the pace on the screen and its subtitles are intermittently slow and fast. It is unique, intriguing, confusing and…depressing.
The acting however is impressive. The Brazilian cast delivers solid performances. Adriano Carvalho plays the lead, along with an amazing Maria Helena Dias, Fabricio Boliveira, Luana Nastas, Sandra Corveloni, and Juliana Carnerio da Cunha.
This film is not rated. We do not recommend it for young children. The genre is: Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Drama. The running time is 116 minutes. Portuguese and Banto with English subtitles.
Rating
The Clapper
Oye Vey! While this is not a bad film, well…yes it is, this want-to-be romance just doesn’t deliver on the story premise. The characters aren’t likable. The story is hookie. The character stereotypes are offensive. The romantic connection does not work. Tedious is probably the best description.
The acting follows suit. The characters for Amanda Seyfried, Ed Helms, Tracy Morgan, Adam Levine and Leah Remini were just not interesting or likable. One notable exception was Brenda Vaccaro as the mother at the end of the film, she was a hoot.
It is rated R for language and some sexual references. Children should not see this, or anyone else for that matter. It runs 89 minutes.
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The Insult
Finally an International film worthy of an audience. The Insult is a compelling and powerful story about social and political tensions, in this case Lebanon.
Toni, a mechanic, and Lebanese Christian is insulted by a Building Foreman who is a Palestinian refugee. What could have been resolved by a simple apology erupts into a social explosion and contentious court case.
The cast of mostly Lebanese actors is impressive. Rita Hayek is the wife of the mechanic. Adel Karam is the mechanic. Kamel El Basha is the Palestinian. Camille Salameh plays the mechanic’s attorney and Diamond Bou Abboud plays the defense lawyer.
This film will be our pick for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. See it while it is still in the theaters! Arabic and French with English subtitles. This film is rated R for language and violent images. Genre is noted as Drama with a run time of 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Rating
Greetings to all from the Big Island of Hawaii!
It has be a great week with our cousin Niki and her friends. The movie scene is somewhat unique, a bit far flung to be sure but still enough first run releases for this post. We will most likely be on a plane back to San Francisco as you read this.
Enjoy! J&J
Acts of Violence
This film is listed as an Action/Thriller featuring Bruce Willis in a soft role. There are fair performances by Sophia Bush, Cole Hauser, Shawn Ashmore, Ashton Holmes, Mike Epps, Sean Bronson and Jenna Kelly.
All said, this movie just chugs along. It wanders through a lost plot, almost insulting to audiences that deserve a better movie experience. There is simply too much violence in this serious flawed plot about human trafficking.
It is rated R for violence, language, sexuality, nudity and drugs. Children should not see this film. Run time is 1 hour, 26 minutes.
Rating
Den of Thieves
This is an unusual film where virtually none of the characters are very likable. Both the LA Sheriffs and LA ex-military gang members square off over a robbery from the Federal Reserve Bank.
Both the actors and the screenplay are pretty intense. Gerard Butler, Christian Gudegast, Ryan Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley and Mark Canton do a reasonably good job portraying their characters. Though it seems to toggle between a heist film and a testosterone showdown.
The movie is rated R for violence, language and sexuality/nudity. The genre is listed as Action and Adventure, Drama. Running time is 2 hours, 20 minutes.
Rating
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
The latest dystopian film in the Maze Runner franchise is a big step up for the popular series. This episode pulls out the stops and decides to break into the “Last City”, the tightly controlled capital in hope of finding a cure for the “flare virus”.
The cast is familiar with Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Rosa Salazar, Patricia Clarkson and several others from the previous editions.
Audience and critic reviews have been mixed. We liked it and found it an intriguing chapter in the series.
It is rated PG-13 for intense sci-for violence, action language and some thematic elements. It’s genre is listed as Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy. The run time is 114 minutes.
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