Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam Mr. Bee’s review

Hello! Welcome to my 100th blog. Yes, after 4 years of blogs with topics including talking, animated dinosaurs that should have went extinct 20 years ago, literally yelling at the academy, through the worst movie of the 21st century Cool Dog, one of Dr. Seuss’s weirdest projects The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (which is saying a lot ), and essays about Douglas Fairbanks and the definition of a blockbuster, and my end of the year polls but we have been through it all together. What topic do I have planned for this momentous occasion ? Well I will be officially starting my Ernest reviews which will probably take me to my 200th blog 4 years from now at the rate I go! Lets begin with the 1st movie in the Ernest franchise (if you can call this an actual Ernest movie). Shall we begin?




Background :
Just to let you know , I found very little behind the scenes facts on this movie but I will share with you what I did find so this section won’t be in “earnest“. The movie was directed by John Cherry (get used to hearing the name as he has directed all but one of the Ernest movies). The movie was apparently released in 1986 but it was not released on video until 1992 by Good Times Home Video. The funny thing is , I found no mention of it being in Theaters! So what happened during that 6 years is a mystery. Was it only shown to a select group of people? Was it shown on TV? I never found any evidence of it airing . Did they have trouble finding a distributor? Was it only in a very limited release or were Varney and Cherry embarrassed by what they made so they locked it away for 6 years? Or perhaps they just misplaced it! We just don’t know!




Plot:

Dr. Otto is a mad scientist with a hand on his head (Why is there a hand on his head? It is never quiet explained). He created this machine that will warp matter and the only one that can stop it is a rather stupid hero, Lance Sterling. Armed with a riddle that reads "When the money is scrambled to the very last cent, riots and hatred soon will commence. When all the world's commerce will be put in a bind, from the evil that lurks where the sun never shines. It is I, Dr. Otto von Schnick-ick-ick-ick, who has played on you this trick-ick-ick-ick." 'But who's Dr. Otto?' you may well ponder, while all your magnetic cash is squandered. It's he who had an eye, and yet couldn't see. It's he who served bouillabaisse, when he was a she. It's he who gambled with brains, and a gun. It's he who had all, and yet had none. And to stop this horrible twisted trick, just exchange the poles of old Saint Nick. And if that doesn't do to save the day, put another quarter in and try another play." Our hero meets some of Dr. Otto’s disguises, and that includes a pirate, and a classic impression of an old lady.




Opinion:
This movie is rather weird and bizarre. The movie feels really episodic. In the theoretical sense, it might work well as a mini series. But there is several scenes that just feel rather forced and not really that funny. On the other hand, there are also some things that are just hilarious. Overall, the acting is good. Jim Varney is of course putting his all into it. On the technical level, the movie is pretty good. Everything in it on a technical level is good, there is nothing in that sense that I can really criticize. With the exception of the cinematography, they could get a rather weird shot. By the way, Ernest did not appear until the very end of the movie, so if you are coming there for Ernest, you are going to be rather disappointed. Overall, I’m going to have to give Dr. Otto a 3 out of 5 star rating.

There is still time to vote it the run off of my end of the year poll. Thank you everyone for reading, whether this is your first blog or you started with my first one, I am forever grateful that you’ve taken the time to read any of my 100 blogs. Thank you and goodnight and Happy Holidays!



Mr.Bee 

  

Grand Budapest Hotel vs Groundhog Day - Google Forms

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.
 images courtesy of  Sweat Equities, LLC and Mango Bollywood respectively.

The Academy’s Feet [Thankfully] Get Cold

Roughly three weeks ago, the Academy attempted to get their dignity back by postponing the roll-out of the “Best Popular Film” Oscar until further notice. Now if you read the blog that I did last month, you will know that I did not care for the decision, so their choice was for the best to put a hold on the category altogether. Now the Academy “reportedly” did it it primarily give the studios time to campaign for the category in the future and also to clarify rules, so it may re-emerge. Now the CEO of the Academy, Dawn Hudson, gave this statement. “There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members. We have made changes to the Oscars over the years—including this year—and we will continue to evolve while also respecting the incredible legacy of the last 90 years.” Now this is a nice little political statement that doesn’t give us a whole lot of details. The president of the Academy, John Bailey, is reportedly all-in on the idea. That causes me pause. So, if this guy is very high up in the Academy, it worries me that when they usually vote and announce new rules for the Oscars in March or April, I am worried that we will be in the same boat that we were in back in August when they re-announce the Best Popular Film Oscar category AGAIN. There is a possibility that they will call it something else, but I hope that the internet and other people realize that they are just calling the same (unnecessary) category a different name. Although, with the way that the news cycle is these days, they may have forgotten about the original Best Popular Film Oscar in the first place - I still have my worries. What I hope is that the Academy is just saying that it’s postponed just to not upset the two people outside the administration of the Academy and of ABC that are for this category. Now they will continue with the two other changes to the Oscars: moving the Oscars to early February in 2020 and putting and presenting more Oscars during commercial breaks to cut down on the broadcast time. It was announced that the number of categories in the actual broadcast of the show will be between 6-8 categories. To put that into perspective, do you know how many Oscar categories there are? There are 24! So pretty much up to 75% of the categories could be CUT from the show. So, I guess they really want more time to have the next host to pass out and sell girl scout cookies!

Well, thank you all for reading this delayed blog. Now I will tell you that in the next couple months there will be major changes in how I talk about movies. But I’m not in the mood to announce it just yet, so stay tuned! By the way, there is still time to vote for my run-off to my end-of -the-year poll. So, please vote so that I don’t have to do the winner of the end-of-the-year poll for 2017 in 2019. So, once again, thank you very much for reading. Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee 

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

The Academy’s Desperation Removes Dignity!

    

    Hello Everyone! It has been four years since I started this Blog.  Now I am actually breaking a tradition here as I usually review a Don Bluth movie. However, the Academy must have wanted me to criticize them again, because it’s been over a year since I did a huge rant about them. So last week the Academy announced 3 big changes to the Oscars. One of which is something that doesn’t make much difference. The second  I may be able to live with. The third, however, is a terrible idea and whoever thought of it should really take a good long look in the mirror. So let’s begin:

    The first and least foolish decision is that in 2020 the Oscars will be moving from Late Feb or early March (on winter Olympic Year) to early/ mid February, the idea is to attract more viewers, by shortening award season. This idea may work but, I don’t feel it will make much difference.  Award Season at the moment really begins in early January with The Golden Globes and ends in late Feb with the aforementioned Oscars. The reason it won’t make much difference is because, the other award ceremonies will also move their dates earlier. I've got news for them, “the other Award Shows really like to predict the Oscars.”

The second change is that they are going to be more cautious on the length of the ceremony.  It is only supposed to run for 3 hours but tends to run anywhere from a couple minutes to two hrs over (it usually only runs an hour over). What they are going to do is eliminate some of the smaller categories out of the telecast by presenting them during commercial breaks and then highlight the acceptance speech when the telecast resumes. Now the Tonys do the same thing which I can't say I like but I don't mind it because it’s traditional for them. My opinion that doing this during the Oscars is disrespectful because these people work very hard and receive very little fame or fortune. You can make the telecast shorter without removing them and by not performing the best song nominees. Also by removing all the fillers such as Neil Patrick Harris’ predictions, Chris Rock selling Girl Scout cookies, and Jimmy Kimmel going across the street to another theater and surprising the audience as they were watching a Wrinkle In Time . It seems that the Academy prefers These Moments, over what they are supposed to be doing which is honoring the previous years best in film.

Now the final and worst of all is that there is going to be a new category called Best Popular Film. First of all the title needs to be changed immediately! You hear this every year, “why did this or that picture not get nominated for best picture”. Some of them for instance The Avengers probably is not best picture material (although my 7th grade mind did think it was ) but other movies like Logan definitely are.  My last rant about the Oscars was on the animation category which is very much like a participation trophy. That is saying that with the animation category, an animated movie winning best picture within 10 to 20 years is basically zero percent. Getting nominated is a little higher but still very low. The Academy is basically doing the same exact thing to Blockbusters! What exactly do they  mean by popular films? Do they mean how much the audience scored it on sites like cinemascore or do they mean box office numbers and if so how much does a movie need to make? For instance does it merely need to make back its budget or make a billion dollars? Also if this is like a participation trophy, if they had this from early beginnings, would fan favorite movies which were best picture contenders when they came out such as Get Out and Avatar even be nominated for best picture.  There have been fan favorite movies that have gone on to win best picture like the final Lord of the Rings film, Titanic, and even earlier The Sound of Music. In other words would those movies still have won or would the Academy have felt the best popular film trophy would have been sufficient?The only thing that the Academy has clarified about this new category is that the nominees for best popular film will still be eligible for the best picture award.

In conclusion, I think two of the decisions are bad, one worse than the other, and the other will not make a difference. All of these changes are for ratings but the best popular film award might just backfire on them!  

My thanks to everyone that has read my blogs for the last 4 years and my volunteer staff for helping to get every blog out! I will be forever grateful to all of you! Goodnight and Bee Happy!™

Mr.Bee

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

So What Constitutes a “Blockbuster”, Anyway?

                                               
Originally Published on May 31 2018
Hi! This was originally written as an essay for my film class last year. Now that the industry seems to be churning out more and more big-budget, high-grossing movies, I figured now was an appropriate time. Also, my blog posts are becomming more and more scarce these day...so, sit back and enjoy this ‘blockbuster’ edition of my blog.


Mr.Bee


A Hollywood Blockbuster can be an expected or a surprise based solely off ticket sales. A modern example for an expected blockbuster is Star Wars: The Force Awakens while an unexpected blockbuster is Deadpool. The three characteristics that both these films share are starpower or notoriety and a diverse audience bolstering box-office returns.


True Hollywood blockbusters either have notable movie stars and/or another form of notoriety. For example, the name “Star Wars” alone automatically gives a film credibility even though an argument can be made that there may not be a true “a-list” celebrity in the movie. However, most blockbusters draw obvious stars. For example, Ryan Reynolds, the star of Deadpool, was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive. Notoriety through either measure makes the public more likely to pay the ticket price to go see the/their movie on the big screen. Batman vs. Superman was a recent “blockbuster” despite the fact that most critics panned the movie as sub-par. The movie, overall, did not perform as expected but still made $873 million on a $250 million dollar budget. The Transformers franchise is also another example of poorly received blockbusters. Many film fans consider the series one of the worst of all time, but they keep making money and movies. Some form of notoriety is the reason that nearly half of summer blockbusters are remakes or sequels.





A true blockbuster has a huge box-office intake due to its appeal to a diverse audience . In order to be a box-office hit, it has to make double its budget including advertising. In addition, if a movie has a far-reaching appeal, then it sustain its popularity thereby bolstering its intake. For example, a movie like Frozen, which, granted isn’t your typical blockbuster, was a box-office darling that audiences couldn’t let go of. Children loved the movie and watched it over and over again and it was watchable by adults because they were also entertained. Further, merchandising for the movie held on for years. Another instance of appealing to a diverse audience is the United States’ overall apathy for foreign films. Many foreign films are critically acclaimed, but don’t become blockbusters because they can’t draw a big audience in the States because of lack of interest. Spirited Away or Ponyo are examples. In summary, a blockbuster needs a broad appeal and relatability in order for people to go see it thereby increasing its box office take.

Bibliography

https://www.writersstore.com/secrets-of-blockbuster-movies-part-1/

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-11-defining-features-of-the-summer-blockbuster/

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.
 image courtesy of Schmoes Know

It’s a Tie

As many of you know every year from New Year’s to the end of February, I try to get the audience to let me know what the common consensus is on what movie they want me to review.  The  previous winners of my end-of-the-year poll are Peter Pan Live, the Quiet Man, and Zoolander.  This year there is a 50/50 split on the movies deemed eligible.  Those movies are The Grand Budapest Hotel and Groundhog Day.  I’m going to be doing a google poll for this run-off.  The link will be in the description, and I hope to announce the winner by June.  So, happy voting, Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee

Grand Budapest Hotel vs Groundhog Day - Google Forms

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

Who Ernest Is

Well, let me begin by saying that I’m sorry for the loooooong

delay on this.  Good help is tough to come by these days.  As I’m you sure you knew, for several months I was having you vote on the next series for me to review here.  Then, it ended up turning into a tie which resulted in a run-off.  Finally, all the votes are in, and we have a decisive winner, and here it is:  

·         Ernest 58.8%

·         Rodgers and Hammerstein 41.2%

So, it seems that Ernest has won, so any arguments to the contrary will be “in Ernest”.  One thing that I didn’t realize (which contributed to why it took so long to get a winner) was that many people don’t know who Ernest is.  So, I will be nice here and explain who he is.  Ernest P. Worrell was a character created and played by actor Jim Varney.  Varney also voiced “Slinky” the dog in the Toy Story movies and a lot of other voice animation.  The Ernest character started in local commercials in Nashville and grew from there.  It grew to the point where Varney got a movie deal with Mickey Mouse.  Ernest appeared in a total of 10 movies...correction, 9 if you don’t count Dr. Otto (but I am counting it).  Ernest also got a tv series, Hey Vern, It’s Ernest.  And, by the way, if you’re wondering if I’ll review the tv series, yes, after the review of the last movie I will.  The tv series was started and cancelled in ‘88.  The Mouse let Ernest go in ‘91, but Ernest managed to get another movie deal with a smaller studio.  He did do one theatrical movie with them, Ernest Rides Again, but the rest went right to video.  So, that tells me that Ernest was popular in the ‘80s and maybe the first year of the ‘90s, but his star faded.  I will say that I have only seen four out of the ten movies and only one of those more than twice (Ernest Saves Christmas).  So, what we will be finding out is if Ernest was just a mere product of his time who will fade into obscurity or if he was a brilliant actor and comedian who should be watched and rewatched for generations to come.   Oh, and by the way, not to boast, but I will be one of the first critics to take a comprehensive look at Varney’s movies.  Even the legendary film critic Roger Ebert never reviewed a single Ernest movie in his long and illustrious career.  So, I hope you join me for what will probably will end up being the next three years.  Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

90th Oscars

*Hello!  This was originally written on March 8, but do to life, I didn’t have time to post it because, quite frankly, with such a hectic schedule, this blog has become little more than a hobby.  After all, many other things in my life have been delayed, so why not this too?  So, sit back and enjoy!

 Mr. Bee

Last Sunday the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) held the 90th Academy Awards.  It was hosted by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.  And, for the record, they did not make the same mistake as last year.  Jimmy Kimmel did a good job as host for what ended up being a nearly four hour telecast.  He did a a bit where the person who gave the shortest acceptance speech got a jetski and an all-expenses paid trip to Lake Havasu (which ended up being the costume designer for Phantom Thread).  I would say that was the best on-going joke at an award show since Ellen Degeneres and her pizza skit and the selfie-seen-round-the-world at the 2014 Oscars.  Since then, we had very mediocre bits (e.g. Neil Patrick Harris giving predictions and Chris Rock selling girl scout cookies).  The In Memorium was good but left out one very important name - that being Adam West.  For me, West’s inclusion seemed very insensitive.  Granted, he’s best-known for playing Batman in the tv version, but he was also arguably the first Batman in a movie, so I would imagine his immense cult following was also disappointed.  Now, let’s get to the winners.

Best Picture - The Shape of Water; I just wanted to mention that I made the stupidest move of all time with this.  I predicted this movie to win for WEEKS only to change my prediction at the last minute to Get Out.  I guess it’s important to follow my early predictions instead of my last-minute predictions (that is predictions soon after nominations come out).  The “Three Billboards Backlash” was probably the deciding factor in this category that catapulted The Shape of Water.  

Best Actress - Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.  She gave a really empowering acceptance speech.

Best Supporting Actress - Allison Janney for I, Tonya

Best Actor - Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour.  His acceptance speech was mixed but had probably the best ending to a speech of the night.

Best Supporting Actor - Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards

Best Director- Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water

Best Adapted Screenplay - Call me by Your Name.  James Ivory, the screenwriter, is now the oldest Oscar winner at 89.

Best Original Screenplay - Get Out.  Jordan Peele, the screenwriter and director, gave one of the best acceptance speeches of the night by thanking we the audience (unfortunately, he did not mention me by name).  

Best Animated Feature and Song - Coco

One of the other categories that I want to mention is Best Animated Short which went to Dear Basketball.  This means that Kobe Bryant now has an Oscar in the year of the #metoo movement, which is very debatable.  However, animated legend, Glen Keane finally won his first Oscar (which is probably about 20 years overdue).  

And now, before I send you off, I want to give you my predictions for next year’s ceremonies.  This year’s predictions were pretty spot-on.  I got 19 out of 24 categories correct and would have done even better if I didn’t second-guess myself.  I am also pretty proud to remind you that last year I picked Darkest Hour and Dunkirk which were both nominated for Best Picture. Now for my predictions for next year. Keep in mind it's a long way to next year and it could change at any moment, Mary Queen of Scots starring Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie (about Queen Mary of Scotland), Black Panther, and movies with an outside chance include Mary Poppins Returns, Christopher Robin, The Incredibles 2,  Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, and Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs.  Well, thanks to everyone for reading my often-delayed awards’ season coverage, and between now and next year’s coverage, there will be a lot happening with my blog.  So, good night, and here’s hoping for a great movie year.  Bee Happy!

Mr.Bee
copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

The Annies and the BAFTAs

            Welcome to the Olympic athletes returning home that may be reading my blog.  And to everyone else reading, I guess you can read along.  Well, a little over 3 weeks ago, the Annies took place.  Then, a week ago Sunday the BAFTAs took place.  So, let’s start with the Annies.

     It was one of most organized Annie ceremonies that I have seen.  It was quite a surprise and may be from the fact that the Oscars botched it last year (which is a really amazing considering that the Annies holds the record for the most “What the Bee” moments).  One of my favorite moments was the tribute to the late, great June Foray.  With that said, the in memoriam segment where they highlight some of the other main people that died had the same problem as in years prior; the names just rolled going down the screen which left little to no impression.  

On to the winners; Coco swept the Annies.  It only lost one nomination but won the category nonetheless because it was competing against  itself (that being “Best Storyboarding”).  Having seen all the nominees for best animated feature coupled with seeing one of the Animated Feature (Independent) nominees (Loving Vincent) my opinion on Coco winning everything is that it was a very weak year for animated movies.  Since Lego Batman was shut out of most categories, Coco was a shoo-in.  When you are putting movies like Boss Baby and Captain Underpants up against a legitimate movie, Coco is on a different plane.  Both movies are decent - just nowhere near the category of Coco.  If this is the best in animation, I’d hate to see the worst.  Unfortunately, “the worst” came out this year, and I have seen it.  Here’s hoping for a better slate of animated movies in 2018 (and it looks promising).  The Breadwinner won Best Animated Feature (Independent) putting it in a very good place to at least somewhat compete with Coco, but for all intents and purposes, Coco is a lock for the Oscar.  Best Animated Short went to Dear Basketball.  Now, you might think that positions Dear Basketball for an Oscar, but the Annies have only correlated 3 of the last 7 years to the Oscars.  The race has really tightened up in this category as of late, but it is still a slight favorite with today being the last day for Oscar voting.  

As for the BAFTAs, it was an overall pretty good show.  The ceremony was hosted by Joanna Lumley and she was kind of “meh”.  She had some funny jokes, but her opening sketch was not funny in the least.  She did not, however, distract from or ruin the ceremony itself - which a bad host can do (recall Anne Hathaway and James Franco, 2011).  Let’s get to the winners. Best Supporting Actress went to Allison Janney (I, Tonya) who is now the Oscar lock with little leeway. Best Supporting Actor went to Sam Rockwell (3 Billboards) who is the heavy favorite for the Oscar.  Gary Oldman won for Best Actor (Darkest Hour) and is a shoe-in for the Oscar.  Frances McDormand got the Best Actress for 3 Billboards and is who the smart money is on to win.  Best Director went to Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water which has positioned itself as the front-runner.  Call me by your Name, and probable Oscar winner, won Best Adapted Screenplay.  Best Original Screenplay was 3 Billboards which is in a dogfight with Get Out.  It was no surprise that Coco won for Best Animated Feature.  3 Billboards won for Best Picture, but I would not count on it winning the Oscar.  The BAFTAs have gotten the Best Picture wrong the last three years.  3 Billboards also did not get a Best Director nomination which is a kiss of death.  3 Billboards is having a backlash for its purported mixed messages with Sam Rockwell’s character and the ending.  If you will recall, last-minute backlash is what unseated La La Land last year.

I apologize for the delay for this.  I will not be posting another blog until after the Oscars, so enjoy the show and anticipate my reactions and recap.  

I dedicate this blog to the late June Foray who was a pioneer in voice acting.  She voiced many of your favorite cartoon characters through many decades.  She was a passionate defender for the art of animation including founding the Annie Awards and because of her time on the Board of Governors of the Academy, she is the reason that animation still has a place in the Oscars.  So, from all of us at Brilliant Movie Buzz; thank you!  Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee  

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.  

images courtesy of ASIFA-Hollywood ,BAFTA  and MyConfinedSpace

The SAG Awards and Oscar Nominations

Welcome. The SAG Awards were last Sunday and the Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday morning, so let’s not waste any time. Let’s get into it. So, the SAG Awards were Sunday and they were hosted by Kristen Bell and she did a pretty decent job and I will say that she is the best SAG host (that’s not saying much considering that she is the first host). The ceremony was overall pretty good.

Here are the winners in the movie categories:

• Best Actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)
• Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)
• Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards)
• Best Ensemble: Three Billboardss
• Best Stunt Ensemble: Wonder Woman  

Now that we have the SAG awards out of the way, let’s get to the reason you clicked on this blog in the first place. Well there are 9 nominees for Best Picture this year. As I have mentioned every year, the Oscar’s can have a maximum of 10 nominees for best picture, and a minimum of 5. Some of the movies that have gotten left out include I, Tonya, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Disaster Artist, Coco, The Lego Batman Movie, and The Emoji Movie. I am joking about the last one. That movie has a nice happy spot  as a Razzie nominee for worst movie of the year (fingers crossed).  As for the winner of Best Picture, I would say that there is a 4-way race between The Shape of Water, Three Billboards, Get Out, and Lady Bird.  Before the nomination, it was between Billboards and The Shape of Water, but the director of Three Billboards, Martin Mcdonagh was, surprisingly, not nominated for Best Director.  As I mention every year, with the director of a movie not being nominated, it severely hinders that movie’s chances of winning the top honor.  Only 4 movies in the 90 year history of the Oscars have been able to pull it off (Wings, 1929; Grand Hotel, 1932; Driving Miss Daisy, 1990; Argo, 2013).  So, Billboards winning is now unlikely even though it has a shot.  

For the other categories; Best Director - Guillermo del Toro as the front-runner (The Shape of Water)  with Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) being the next most likely suspect.  Best Actor - Gary Oldman has this in the bag (Darkest Hour); Best Actress - Frances McDormand is a lock; Best Supporting Actor - Rockwell or Willem Dafoe or Christopher Plummer could pull out a  victory; Supporting Actress - Allison Janney (I, Tonya); Best Adapted Screenplay - Call me by Your Name; Best Original Screenplay - Get Out; Animated Feature - Coco without competition

Now I want to turn your attention to a very interesting category; Best Animated Short.  I have seen two out of the five movies nominated (Lou and Dear Basketball).  Both shorts are really good and are the two front-runners.  I think Dear Basketball will pull out a victory.  If this happens, Kobe Bryant will actually win an Oscar.  

Well, that’s about it for this installment.  You still have time to vote for my end-of-the-year poll.  Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee

For a complete list of ALL the Oscar nominees, please visit  

http://oscar.go.com/nominees

 

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

The Golden Globes, The Critics’ Choice, and BAFTA Noms

Well, after last week we finally have a clear picture on what will be the Oscar nominees and winners.  So, let’s start with the Golden Globes.

Now the Golden Globe ceremony  was on January 7.  They were hosted by late-night-host-extraordinaire Seth Meyers.  His monologue was brilliant as he successfully navigated a tumultuous time in Hollywood (#MeToo, #Timesup, #Woke).  He wasn’t “as good” throughout the show, but he set the bar pretty high from the onset.  He did a pretty decent job overall - not the BEST host, but far better than Jimmy Fallon last year.  

The show was pretty good.  Oprah stole the show when she gave a really great speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award (and, before you ask, she DID NOT get everybody a new car.).  Let’s get to the winners!

Best Picture (Drama): Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy): Lady Bird

Best Animated Feature: Coco

Best Supporting Actor:  Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards)

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Actor (Drama): Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy): James Franco (The Disaster Artist)

Best Actress (Drama): Frances McDormand

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy): Saoirse Ronin (Lady Bird)

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

Best  Screenplay: Three Billboards

Now, letś move onto the Critics’ Choice Awards.  They had these last Thursday and were hosted by Olivia Munn.  She did an okay job.  It was one of the better Critics’ Choice shows (which is a very short list because of their really bad track record with hosts).  Letś move onto the winners:

Best Picture: The Shape of Water

Best Animated Feature: Coco

Best Supporting Actor:  Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards)

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Actor : Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actress (Drama): Frances McDormand (Three Billboards)

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

Best Original Screenplay: Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay: Call me by Your Name

Now letś move onto the BAFTA Nominations:

The Shape of Water had the most nominations that year (12).  I have a sneaky suspicion that it will probably win Best Picture because the BAFTAs are, of course, British therefore have British voters.  Three Billboards seems to be a very American movie, so it may have a lesser-appeal across the pond.  Other movies that could take it are Dunkirk or Call me by Your Name.  Del Toro will most likely win for Best Director but Christopher has a major chance for pulling off an upset because heś British.  Gary Oldman will easily win for Best Actor (especially since heś playing the part of Winston Churchill)  Frances McDormand will win for Best Actress.  As for Supporting Actor, Iḿ going to go out on a limb and say Christopher Plumber (for All the Money in the World), but Sam Rockwell will probably go on to win the Oscar.  Best Supporting Actress will probably be Allison Janney (I, Tonya).  Best Original Screenplay will probably be Three Billboards.  Best Adapted Screenplay will be Call Me by Your Name.  And, finally, Coco will win for Best Animated Feature.  One interesting thing about this category is that we have a holdover from last year; that being My Life as a Zucchini.  If youŕe wondering why that is, BAFTA goes by when the movies are released in England while the Oscars go by when movies are released in Las Angeles.  So, My Life as a Zucchini wasn't released in England until 2017.

The SAGs are on Sunday and the Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday morning, and the Producers’ Guild Awards will be announced on Saturday.  So, be sure to keep checking back for all of my awards season coverage.  You also still have time to do my end-of-the-year poll, so Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

Award Season Nominations 2018

Welcome to my long-delayed award season coverage.  Last month we got the nominations for three of the big four award shows.  Now, I will be predicting the major awards for all of them in the order in which they were announced.  

The Annie Awards

     Best Animated Feature: It’s a very interesting category.  

·         Captain Underpants

·         The Boss Baby

·         Cars 3

·         Despicable Me 3

·         Coco - Coco will win hands-down.  

Best Animated Feature: Independent will probably go the “The Breadwinner”

Best Directing: This award will probably go to Lee Unkrick for “Coco”.  A possible upset pick could be Nora Twomey for “The Breadwinner” or Chris McKay for “LEGO Batman Movie”

Best Voice Acting:  This award will likely go to Zach Galfianakis for “Lego Batman Movie” or Anthony Gonzalez for “Coco”

Writing:  I think that “Coco” has this one in the bag.

And, on a side note, for Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production one very interesting nomination, Avatar Flight of Passage which is a motion simulator at Disney World.  In other words, it’s a ride.  

This is the second time in as many years that I have questioned the legitimacy of a nominee (after last year’s “ Batman: The Return of the Caped Crusader” was nominated for best music).  The award may go to the ride, but my bet is on “Cars 3”

The Critics’ Choice Awards

     Best Picture: “The Shape of Water” will probably win although “Dunkirk” or “The Post”

     will be outside contenders.

     Best Actor: James Franco in “The Disaster Artist” seems to be pulling away.

     Best Actress: I predict Francis McDormand for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,

     Missouri” although Meryl Streep and Sally Hawkins could be in the running.

    

     Best Supporting Actor: I predict Willem Dafoe for “The Florida Project”

     Best Supporting Actress: I think Allison Janney for “I, Tonya” will take home the hardware.

     Best Director: I predict Christopher Nolan for “Dunkirk”but Guillermo Del Toro for “The

     Shape of Water” wouldn’t surprise me.  Spielberg is also always a contender.  

     Best Original Screenplay:  “Three Billboards…” looks promising in an otherwise difficult

     category to predict.

     Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Disaster Artist”

     Best Animated Feature: I’m leaning towards “Coco”, but “The Breadwinner” is up there.  

     I’d also give “The LEGO Batman Movie” a chance of pulling out a victory.

Golden Globes

     Best Picture (Drama): “Dunkirk”

     Best Picture (Musical or Comedy): “The Disaster Artist” is my favorite in this category but

     “Ladybird” could pull out a victory.  

     Best Actress (Drama): Meryl Streep for “The Post” is probably the front-runner although

     many of the “experts” are saying Frances McNormand, so take it for what it’s worth

     Best Actor (Drama): Gary Oldman for “The Darkest Hour”

     Best Actress (Musical or Comedy): Margot Robbie for “I, Tonya”

     Best Actor (Musical or Comedy): James Franco

     Best Supporting Actress (Musical or Comedy): Allison Janney

     Best Supporting Actor (Musical or Comedy): Willem Dafoe

     Best Director: Christopher Nolan

    

     Best Screenplay: “Three Billboards”

     Best Animated Feature: “Coco” with the caveat that “The Breadwinner” is a true

     dark horse here.  The Golden Globe might go weird and give it to “The Boss Baby”

     Though.

SAG Awards

     Best Ensemble: “Three Billboards…”

     Best Actress: Frances McDormand with Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water”) another

     Potential recipient.  

     Best Actor: Gary Oldman or maybe James Franco

     Best Supporting Actress: Probably Allison Janney

     Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe

That is a brief synopsis of what’s to come.  Thanks for joining us.  I’m sorry for the delay, but The Golden Globes is Sunday.  Check back for my thoughts and reactions.  Please vote for my end-of-the-year poll which is up and running.  Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr.Bee

copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

  image courtesy of NYMag