So the big night for all things motion picture was last night, & the Disney Empire only took home a small fraction of the 17 awards they were up for. In their defense in a lot of the categories they were nominated, they were up against themselves in one form or fashion. Even in those they came up just short. Nothing surprising though this year's list of nominees were so stacked, a lot of things were hard to call, & just as hard to argue with the winners. I knew Black Panther stood no chance at Best Picture. So, that was no surprise. In fact I've seen most of the films nominated, & Green Book was an amazing film. My choice to win for that matter. Black Panther did take home 3 trophies though, Best Costume, Best Production Design, & Best Original Score. A well deserved, great win for Marvel that was bound to cut into the 17 nominations no matter how it was sliced. Due to Mary Poppins Returns also being nominated in those categories. Some more that had double bookings with Best Original Song, Best Animated Feature, & the Disney loaded Best Special Effects categories, they weren't so fortunate in. However, I cannot disagree with any of the winners at all. It was just that right of a race. All the original songs were great, I've heard Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse wouldn't have surprised some in the actual Best Picture category. The closest race in my head for the night though, was Special Effects. Disney had three examples of very different types of Effects showcased in Solo, Infinity War, & Christopher Robin, but once again, no arguements can be made. First Man had effects so good you'd have one keen eye if you could even spot them all versus actual documentary footage. Other than that Bao was a shoe in for Animated Short as it was pretty much the only one everyone has seen. Great awards race, I've never agreed with more picks in one show than this one. Might've even restored a little of my faith in the Academy Awards. Your thoughts though? Put 'em in the comments, like, & share.
Thoughts On Disney*Pixar*Marvel*Lucasfilm Line-up For The Year
Disney released their line-up for the year along with these pics, some new & old, last night. I thought it would be a great time to go over what's coming out, & go over our anticipation going in. Now, they put them from first to last. Which to me was messed up, because after you read the last ones you're all the sudden most excited for the stuff that's furthest away. So I'm going to do it in reverse. That way when the list is done, what you read last is the closest release. See, I'm always thinking of y'all..
Mary Poppins Returns (Dec. 25) - Christmas will be a "Jolly Holiday" with Mary Poppins Returns, where everyone's favorite nanny gets a reprise by Emily Blunt. She'll be joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack the lamplighter, Ben Whishaw & Emily Mortimer as Michael & Jane Banks, Julie Walters as Banks' housekeeper Ellen, Colin Firth as Fidelity Bank's William Weatherall Wilkins, & Meryl Streep as Mary's cousin, Topsy. A new generation of Banks children will be played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, & newbie Joel Dawson. Mary Poppins has to have some drop-ins, so we'll also be getting an appearance from Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady while Dick Van Dyke will be playing the retired chairman of the bank now ran by Firth's character, Mr. Dawes Jr.. This is one I want to say I'm super excited for, like the kids in this pic, but I'm a little hesitant still on this one. Everything looks great, but we're talking a lot of time that has passed between these. Not only that, but this was a period piece even then. I just hope a Mary Poppins can still come off as relevant today. Lord knows, the right amount of talent is involved, so if it's going to happen, this is the way to do it. I can't wait to see more of this to help me really reach a decision.
Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (Nov 21) - This one has John C. Reilly & Sarah Silverman coming back together as Ralph & Vanellope von Schweetz to save Sugar Rush by finding a replacement part on the World Wide Web. They will be joined in their adventures by Taraji Henson as website owner Yesss, head algorithm & heart & soul of "BuzzzTube". I think we all know where they're going with that one. This is something I couldn't believe when it was announced. I LOVE some Wreck-It Ralph, but I never thought we'd be getting a sequel. I mean, look how long we had to wait for The Incredibles. The first Ralph blew me away though. Not only was it hilarious, it had a lot of heart & soul. If this sequel is half as good as the first, it will still be a great film. November 21 is going to be a long, hard wait. Love this image of the internet though.
The Nutcracker & the Four Realms (Nov 2) - If there's one on this list that I'm worried about not even liking, this is the one. Now, I've said before I've never actually seen the Nutcracker fully in any form. When I heard the story it just never seemed that intriguing to me. The trailer didn't do anything to help me either. If I didn't know better, & there was no sound, I would have swore it was a new chapter to Chronicles of Narnia. Which in all honesty, makes me wonder if I won't be the only one to think that, & if it will affect the box-office? Anyway, Clara (Mackenzie Foy) is on a quest for a one-of-a-kind key, leading her to a parallel world. Once there, she encounters soldier Phillip, a gang a mice, & the regents presiding over three realms: the Lands of Snowflakes, Flowers, & Sweets. However, she must brave the Fourth Realm, home to what will probably be the best part of the film, the tyrant Mother Ginger (Hellen Mirren). Along the way she'll also run into the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightly) & a performance from Misty Copeland. I'm not sure I'll be excited for this one even if I see more. Here's the pic of the Sugar Plum Fairy along with some very elemental looking fellas. I think the stills are coming off better than the teaser.
Disney's Christopher Robin (Aug 3) - I'm all about some Winnie the Pooh. In fact, my wife makes fun of me for loving two kiddie movies as she calls them. One is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh & the other is Cars. This live-action film will follow Christopher Robin, played by one of my favorite actors Ewan McGregor, now an adult who has lost his way. His old friends from the Hundred Acre Wood will help him try to find the loving, playful boy within. That's about all the plot we're getting at this time, but what else do we need? A pic of the title logo you say? Well you're in luck because that came out to. This sounds great though. I mean, it's a Hundred Acre Wood version of TED, I'm super pumped to see how this works out.
Marvel Studios' Ant-Man & the Wasp (Jul 6) - The first Ant-Man caught me way off guard. I'm a big Paul Rudd fan so I figured I was going to dig it, but it blew me away. It really pulled off being an awesome superhero flick, while also being a great comedy film at the same time. This pic of Rudd & Evangeline Lilly as Ant-Man & the Wasp totally helps build up my excitement too. Her suits not only look great, it totally compliments his giving it that same tech feel. This come right off Captain America: Civil War, where Lang will not only have to deal with his decisions there as a hero & father. He'll also team up once again with Hope & Dr. Hank Pym to uncover secrets from the past. I'm guessing Hank's lost wife most likely?? Hoping this one can be as funny as the first. Can't wait to find out.
Incredibles 2 (Jun 15) - To say the wait has been long & hard for this one to happen would be an understatement. While we don't know much about the actual plot, we do know that the fam will be having to figure out how to handle Jack-Jack's new multi-set of powers & Brad Bird's returning to helm the film. This is going to be, well, incredible! Couldn't pass that up. Here's a pic of the fam looking like they're about to take on something big. We've waited so long, that this one seems really close now.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25) - Oh man, this one has gone through some things hasn't it. To say the Star Wars movie no one asked for has had it's problems is definitely short-changing the situation. Still no trailer, & this title pic is the most we've really even got so far. We've at least now been told we're getting the meeting of Chewie, some Lando, & the Falcon, but they really need an awesome trailer to get A New Hope going on this one. It's rumored it's coming, & I still have my fingers crossed for this one. Disney's Lucasfilm hasn't done me wrong yet, if anyone can pull this one out the gutter it's them.
Marvel Studio's Avengers: Infinity War (May 4) - This is the one on this list for me this year. All the build up to Thanos comes to an end here setting up Avengers 4, which will be a soft ending for the Marvel Universe as we know it. The trailers to this thing have been epic. I know this is going to be an awesome set-up for all hell to break loose in the next film. This has been described as a heist film, with Thanos gathering up the stones for his Infinity Gauntlet. This pic looks straight from the trailer with the battle on Wakanda. One of the many grand action spots I'm sure this film is going to give us.
Disney's A Wrinkle in Time (Mar 9) - The more & more I see of this, I'm finding myself looking forward to seeing it. Director Ava DuVernay's adaption of Madeleine L'Engle's novel looks absolutely beautiful. I don't remember the original, & I'm holding off to compare afterward, as to not spoil anything considering I don't remember. It follows struggling to fit in high school student, Meg Murry (Storm Reid). She & her brother Charles Wallace are extremely gifted in ways they don't know. Their parents are world-renowned physicists, & Mr. Murry (Chris Pine) has went missing. Following his disappearance three celestial beings Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), & Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) journey to Earth to guide Meg, her brother, & classmate Calvin to tesser through time & space to confront an evil force of darkness that is rapidly enveloping the Universe. This synopsis came with this pic of said celestial beings hanging out in a wheat field. They look so out of place, but the film looks awesome nonetheless.
Marvel Studios' Black Panther (Feb 16) - This movie is another one that the more I see of it, the more my interest has grown in it. Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther is Billy Dee Williams cool. Just as he comes home to Wakanda, (Which looks awesome by the way!) to take his rightful place on the throne following his father's death in Civil War, he also has to deal with the re-emerging of a powerful old enemy. This image released captures the cool I was speaking of with T'Challa alongside bodyguards Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o, left) & Shuri (Letitia Wright, right). They will be joined by Michael B Jordan, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, & Andy Serkis. I've already got my tickets, & from the Marvel-record-breaking pre-sales, I'm not the only one. The trailers have put all my worries to rest really on this one now. I'm looking forward to a really good origin story.
That sums up my thoughts on this years releases. I think we're going to have a really great year at the movies this time around. What I really want to know is, what's your thoughts? Which one of these are y'all looking forward to the most? Put it in the comments, like, & share.