Morning: #Annular #SolarEclipse #Skywatchers + Evening #OscarsParty #Oscars2017

There will be a "Ring of Fire" or Annular Solar Eclipse visible in South America and Africa this morning. Would have loved to be able to witness it from here, but no such luck for us North American skywatchers. Will look for pictures online later. I'm certain somebody will get some spectacular shots and post them.

Meanwhile, I'm prepping for our Oscars 2017 Party this evening. We generally don't actually watch the awards show itself (which is most often too long-winded and self-congratulatory) except for the original song performances, but we will have it on the telly as background noise during the festivities. We're making 7-Layer Nachos, assorted veggie fries (including French fries) and jalapeno poppers for snacks. There's also Key Lime Pie and (in a nod to the Oscar statuette) Golden Oreos for sweets. For beverages, we've got Cheerwine Milkshakes, assorted Coke products (for floats, shakes & mixers) and a full bar.

We play movie trivia games and debate our own award selections. Should be a fun evening. And then early next week, we'll be partying more, because... Mardi Gras! I happen to adore the idea of surprise trinkets hidden in food --- as long as one is forewarned --- so, of course, I love King Cake. (So help me, I'm finding that baby this year.) Looks like February is going out with a blast!

We've Got the #Oscars2017 Nominations List. Now It's Off to the #Movies!

Almost every year, after the Academy Awards nominations are announced, I gather a list of all the movies which garnered nods and make a point to see as many of them as I can before the Oscars ceremony takes place. Then I fill out my own ballot voting for the pictures that (and people whom) I think should win in each category. I will often host a viewing party (or several parties) to screen nominated films already available on the home video market, and organize treks to the theater with my friends to catch movies still at the box office. Once the awards show airs, I see how my ballot stacks up against the actual award winners. (I will generally host an Oscars party, also, or attend one.) I've been doing this annually since I was about 18. It's a fun way to indulge in my hobby of enjoying the cinema, and one of the reasons why I love having a great home theater setup.

This year marks no exception. The Academy announced the Oscars nominees yesterday morning (live on Good Morning America) and I "printed" a PDF copy of the nominations list along with a ballot. I've got to make plans to get in some serious movie watching in the next few weeks as I've been so busy with other things, I haven't already seen as many films that were nominated as I have in past years. But this will make it fun, as I scramble to watch nominated movies -- such a burden, not ---  each day in order to play catch up. Well, it looks like I'be got my work cutout for me. It's off to the movies!

P.S. Did you catch the Academy's announcement? Here's a list of the nominees:

Best Picture
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight

Best Cinematography
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

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 Documentary Feature
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th

Best Foreign Language Film
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

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 Costume Design
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

Best Score
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

Best Original Song
Audition (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

Best Documentary Short
4.1 Miles
Extremis
Joe's Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

Best Production Design
Arrival

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail Caesar
La La Land
Passengers

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 Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life As a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

Best Animated Short
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis (Fences)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Michelle Williams (Manchester By the Sea)

Best Film Editing
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

Best Actress
Isabelle Huppert (Elle)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Emma Stone (La La Land)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Best Director
Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)
Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By the Sea)
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Best Visual Effects
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Please Tell Me I Didn't Just See an Ad for a #RealityTV Series About Tracking Down Ethnic Groups??? #Hunted #WTF #BadIdea #JumpedtheShark

Flipped the TV channel to catch a news program while making breakfast this morning. An ad came on and the voiceover said something about "nine fugitive pairs" and "that's eighteen people on the loose" while displaying little headshot photos, then it zoomed in on one set of pictures and cut to a "live" interview with a featured pair, two Muslim guys of (presumed) Southeast Asian descent who were talking about being dropped off in an altogether different Southeast (that of the United States) and knowing they'll stick out like a sore thumb (not blend in) and thus, be found quickly. It cuts to the show title, Hunted.

My head swiveled. I was like, "Did I just see an ad for a "humans as prey tracking show" that uses ethnic and/or religious identity juxtaposed with the idea of a "homogeneous" society to thwart cover options?" I was only half paying attention as I tend to tune out ads when waiting for actual TV programming, but zeroed in as the gist of the show concept unfolded. I'm hoping that I misheard or at least missed a crucial detail of the show overview. Otherwise, expect the proverbial crap to hit the fan in 10, 9, 8... once it gets out that some Hollywood-type greenlighted a show where the concept is to hunt down humans using gross stereotype as a point of "tension" (and this occurs, not in a suspended disbelief movie set, but in a "real footage" television show). Who thought this would be a good idea? Social media is gonna have a field day, on both sides of the aisle. If we ever needed any proof that Reality TV jumped the shark (a long time ago), we could simply cue this commercial.

No wonder I avoid (most) regular TV. Thank the Maker, I can filter out nonsense like this. As a cordcutter and a timeshifting viewer, I control my media programming. (I seldom see ads, period, and never "just watch" whatever happens to come on the TV.) Entertainment is one thing, idiocy is another.

Attempting to Watch the #GoldenGlobes But...

I am not an awards show fan. I don't cotton to self-congratulatory, pat oneself on the back sort of things. I love movies, not Hollywood ego. (Actually, ego, period.) However, I keep hearing that the Golden Globes is the most fun/relaxed/casual of the big tent awards shows. So I am curious enough to give it a try, because there are some interesting (to me) films and TV series under consideration this year. We'll see how long I can stick with it. Likely, I'll simply end up reading a winner's list tomorrow. 

There Be Monsters Here. Pete's #Dragon & the Remaking of a Beloved #Disney Classic #Movie

I'm wary of seeing remakes of movies. Hollywood has been on a rampage, seemingly determined to remake every movie in recent (and not so recent) history; sometimes rebooting films mere years after the last remake. As a result, the quality of films being put out is at an all time low, in my opinion. There is little original, and the remakes are uninspired derivative drivel (for the most part).

Considering the landscape, it's a pleasant surprise when one discovers a remake with some merit. Sadly, this is not that tale. On a bit of a lark, a few days ago I rented the remake of Pete's Dragon (2016) on Google Play.

Google Play gave me $1.00 account credit + an "$0.99 Any Movie Rental" promotion = Free Movie Rental w/ 1-cent leftover.

I LOVE DRAGONS! Thought I should state this up front. I wanted a pet dragon as a wee tot, was fascinated with them and was sorely disappointed to be told such creatures did not exist. My personal video library is heavy on dragon flicks. I like them animated, animatronic and/or CGI. I will check out a movie merely because I heard a dragon makes an appearance in it.

Thus, I decided to take a chance on this new version of Pete's Dragon in spite of my distaste for remakes. Since it was a free movie rental, I figured if I absolutely hated it, I'd just stop watching, but I wanted to at least see the updated CGI Eliot. (In all honesty the original wasn't a spectacular film, but it gets a pass due to the gloss of my childhood nostalgia and because... DRAGON.)

Well, the movie started off very slowly. And initially I didn't gel with the fuzzy green CGI Eliot. Frustrated, I stopped watching for nearly 24 hours.

By the way, thanks for the longer active viewing window, Google Play --- so much nicer than "you only have 24 hours to view this title".

But I eventually went back, gave it another chance and finished watching it. Eliot grew on me, the human characters did not. (I actually desired to inflict violence upon several of them.) The storyline employs a good deal of heavy handed over-dramatizations, not to mention its plethora of "stupid human tricks".

I wouldn't purchase a copy and I probably would not watch it again --- unless babysitting a child who was interested in viewing it --- but there were moments of charm (mainly concerning the dragon). However, if Eliot does a spinoff without those pesky humans, I'm so there.