Everyone's Gone to the Movies

....and so it begins.

The Golden Globes were just a warm-up to the 6th Annual Academy Award Guessing Game®

Truth be told - I just paid-up my wager to Mike (g-d help me, I link to his blog which hasn't been updated in almost four years!) regarding my humiliating loss to him.

Truth really be told - it was his birthday and he needed more sweets like Dump needs a new Executive Order Trapper Keeper.

So, that might not have been the best analogy, but you know where I was going with that.

And if I'm totally being honest, I didn't make cookies for him. I purchased them. I didn't even try to pass them off as my own. They should arrive today.

I did watch most of the SAG awards. Had I known Winona Ryder (trust me, click on the hyperlink) would be unintentionally high-larious, I would have paid more attention. But my take away from the show was: La La Land isn't untouchable.

Nor should it be. More hype than art. More fluff than substance. I felt better when Becky posted a quizzical Facebook response to the movie. Many people chimed in saying they didn't get why everyone thought it was so good - and how it wasn't close to being the best movie of the year.

I "joked" with 710 saying we should go see La La Land again, to see what we clearly missed the first time. Though now it seems that we missed nothing.

Still - the contest looms. February 26th.  Closer to the time, I'll give my selections, Mike will wait an appropriate amount of time to choose his. And as always - you are all welcome to join in.

But to warm up - we will be selecting from below.  So put on your thinking caps.


BEST PICTURE Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR Denis Villeneuve, Arrival Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge Damien Chazelle, La La Land Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences

BEST ACTRESS Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie Emma Stone, La La Land Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Viola Davis, Fences Naomie Harris, Moonlight Nicole Kidman, Lion Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Hell or High Water La La Land The Lobster Manchester by the Sea 20th Century Women

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Arrival Fences Hidden Figures Lion Moonlight

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Arrival La La Land Lion Moonlight Silence

BEST FILM EDITING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water La La Land Moonlight

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Deepwater Horizon Doctor Strange The Jungle Book Kubo and the Two Strings Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Arrival Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Hail, Caesar! La La Land Passengers

BEST COSTUME DESIGN Allied Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Florence Foster Jenkins Jackie La La Land

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING A Man Called Ove Star Trek Beyond Suicide Squad

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Jackie La La Land Lion Moonlight Passengers

BEST ORIGINAL SONG “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls “City of Stars,” La La Land “The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana

BEST SOUND EDITING Arrival Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Sully

BEST SOUND MIXING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life as a Zucchini The Red Turtle Zootopia


Song by: Steely Dan