Oscar 2016 Predictions!

February 28th marks the day of the Oscars presented by Chris Rock. It is always surrounded with much publicity as it is probably the biggest event in the world of entertainment. There is also much debate to who will pick up the illustrious awards this year with the categories being filled with fierce competition. Instead of just giving my own predictions, I thought I would turn it into a bit of fun and invite a couple of my friends and fellow film enthusiasts to give their predictions as well. We haven't seen every film that has been nominated or has someone nominated in it but we'll still try our best with our predictions. Due to this we won't be doing every award as if none of us have seen any of the candidates there isn't much of a point in going over it. So lets get started!

So there will be four of us doing predictions. Obviously one will be myself. The three others are my friends and fellow college students Michael, Drew and Billy. This is all just a bit of fun for four movie fans at the biggest event of the year. I will be giving a slight insight to what has made me decide on my picks. I will only be doing the main categories as it would end up being far too long to put reasoning for each of us on each category. The other categories that we will be predicting will be in a table at the bottom for a quick summary of our picks.

Best Picture: Nominees: The Big Short, Brooklyn, Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight

There's no better place to start than with Best Picture. This is considered the biggest of them all as it represents all the directing, acting, music composing, writing etc put forth into a film.

Angus: Spotlight: For me, I feel that Spotlight should win this award. This came down to The Revenant and Spotlight for this accolade. It was a tough one but I decided to go for the one that I felt was a better movie and had a bigger impact on me . And that was Spotlight. In my heart I really wanted to go with Mad Max and I would absolutely love it if it were to win.

Michael: Spotlight

Drew: The Revenant

Billy: Room

Best Actor: Nominees: Bryan Cranston, Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne

Second is the Best Actor award currently held by Eddie Redmayne. He is up for it again but did any of us think he had what it takes to retain his crown? Or would a certain Leonardo Di Caprio finally scoop up the award?

Angus: Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant): My pick for this award is Leonardo Di Caprio. However I don't feel that he should. I feel that there were better performances in this category. But I am going with my head here and I think that this will finally be Leo's time.

Michael: Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Drew: Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)

Billy: Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress: Nominees: Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling, Brie Larson, Saorise Ronan, Jennifer Lawrence

Best Actress is next which is currently being held by Julianne Moore. There is no possibility of that happening two years in a row but there is a chance for both Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence to pick up a second Best Actress award.

Angus: Saorise Ronan (Brooklyn): I am not entirely sure about this category due to unfortunately not being able to catch many of the movies. This is just me really going out on a limb here for my pick. I have heard many good things about Ronan's performance and look forward to seeing this in the future.

Michael: Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Drew: Jennifer Lawerence (Joy)

Billy: Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Best Supporting Actor: Nominees: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Rylance, Sylvester Stallone

Christian Bale is the only one to have lifted this award before and looks to do so again this year. He faces a lot of tough competition in what is one of the most competitive categories this year.

Angus: Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight): I think that Mark Ruffalo deserves this award. I loved his performance in Spotlight and thought he was really great. And if he doesn't win, lets just hope he doesn't get angry....

Michael: Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Drew: Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Billy: Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Best Supporting Actress: Nominees: Rachel McAdams, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara

Angus: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl): This was one of the toughest categories for me to decide. It was between Vikander, McAdams and Winslet all the way as I loved all three of their performances and could hardly separate them. Alicia Vikander is my favourite actress right now and due to that, it gave her the edge over very tough competition.

Michael: Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Drew: Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Billy: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Best Director: Nominees: George Miller, Lenny Abrahamson, Tom McCarthy, Adam McKay, Alejandro G Inarritu

Angus: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant): I really really want to go with George Miller here for Mad Max but I do think that Inaritu will pick up his second Oscar in a row in this category.

Michael: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)

Drew: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)

Billy: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)

Category	Angus	Michael	Drew	Billy
Best Picture	Spotlight	Spotlight	The Revenant	Room
Best Actor	Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)	Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)	Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)	Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)
Best Actress	Saorise Ronan (Brooklyn)	Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)	Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)	Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Best Supporting Actor	Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)	Christian Bale (The Big Short)	Tom Hardy (The Revenant)	Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Best Supporting Actress	Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)	Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)	Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)	Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Cinematography	Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)	John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)	Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)
Best Director	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)
Costume Design	Jacqueline West (The Revenant)	Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Make-up and Hairstyling	Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini (The Revenant)	Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini (The Revenant)	Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini (The Revenant)
Music Original Score	John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)	John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)	Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)	Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
Production Design	Arthur Max and Celia Bobak (The Martian)	Jack Fisk and Hamish Purdy (The Revenant)	Arthur Max and Celia Bobak (The Martian)	Arthur Max and Celia Bobak (The Martian)
Visual Effects	Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett (Ex_Machina)
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Emma Donoghue (Room)	Charles Randolph and Adam McKay (The Big Short)	Drew Goddard (The Martian)	Drew Goddard (The Martian)
Writing (Original Screenplay)	Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)	Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)	Matt Charman, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Bridge Of Spies)	Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Ronnie del Carmen (Inside Out)

Some very different picks and not a lot of the same in most categories. It will certainly be interesting to see what is picked to win the illustrious awards. This has just added a little extra spice to the whole event. Only one category was unanimously picked and that was Best Director. It shall be interesting to see how this all pans out.

So those are our picks. Please feel free to leave your picks for the categories in the comments and also if you agree or disagree with anything please say. Thanks for taking the time to read our picks for the 2016 Oscars, it means a lot. I'd also like to thank Michael, Drew and Billy for giving their time to predict the winners for this blog post. Please check out my reviews for some of the films nominated such as 'Spotlight', 'The Revenant' and 'The Danish Girl' Once again thanks for reading!

By Angus McGregor

Spotlight Review

Spotlight was one of the films I was most looking forward to this Oscar season. A great cast telling the story of a true and very serious event. Nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars alongside Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams being nominated for their supporting roles. But would the film be worthy of being in the spotlight as it is right now?

Spotlight stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci. It is the telling of a Boston newspaper team investigating allegations about priest John Geoghan who had been accused of molesting more than 80 children. The investigation leads them to discover more stories to this and unveil a truly horrific story. They soon discover that there is decades worth of hidden crimes all similar to Geoghans as they work to expose the abusers and the Catholic church. To do so they face many obstacles such as lawyers, getting the stories from victims and also hidden documents showing proof of the disgusting acts done by these members of the Catholic church. 

The Spotlight team

This film is 100% worth seeing. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Being from Scotland, I had small knowledge of these events but never to these extents. People need to see this film to know the full extent of what happened by these horrible people. Although it takes place in one city it gives a massive impact on what happened. A very serious subject matter and the film does an absolutely fantastic job at showing this. But not to the extent that it becomes tedious, the film keeps you very interested at all moments. This film deserves all the praise that it is getting and it's Best Picture nomination is so well deserved. In fact it is my pick to scoop up the award, I feel it is that good. It is a very well put together film and is definitely worth seeing as soon as possible.

The performances in Spotlight are great. Mark Ruffalo has won my pick for Best Supporting Actor in the Oscars due to the performance. He was truly magnificent in this role and I'm not just talking about his great talent of holding a phone between his shoulder and ear. He produced a fantastic performance which I feel is Oscar worthy. The scene when it has all been discovered and he loses his cool is just amazing. Rachel McAdams was the only other performance nominated for an Oscar which was also well deserved. Her character was much more comforting and focussed on the victims to get them to open up about these attacks.  She played her role fantastically and in my book, was worthy of the nomination she received.

Mark Ruffalo with an Oscar worthy performance

Michael Keaton once again was very good. It looks as if we're going to get fantastic movies from him each year now which is great following up from Birdman. Liev Schrieber also produced a solid performance although he didn't appear in the film as much as the other characters did or as much as I hoped he would. Performances from the likes of Stanley Tucci, Brian D'Arcy and John Slattery were also very good. I also feel a credit to Neal Huff who played Phil Saviano who did a great job at playing a victim who seemed slightly unhinged and unsure whether to be trusted as a legitimate source. Overall the performances in Spotlight work incredibly well and are very good all around.

This movie is indeed quite frightening due to the subject matter. Over 80 accounts of molestation happening in one city is so incredibly scaring. You might think that it's only just the one city but the film then goes to prove that it is a worldwide thing and not just specifically Boston. I don't think I've ever felt a film hit me harder than at the end of the film where a list of all of the cities affected by these crimes were put on screen. Once I seen the city that I was watching the film in, it really hit me and set me back. As Mark Ruffalo's character says it in the film, it could've been anyone. That to me is terrifying as it really could of happened to anyone in dozens of countries. There is also a very haunting part in this film where we see the complete innocence of children in a church singing Christmas carols unaware to the danger that they may of possibly been in whilst being overlooked by these priests.

McAdams, Keaton and Ruffalo were all great.

I do feel that at the start of the film it was a bit slow, it did seem to take a bit of time for it to finally kick in and get rolling. I also feel that Liev Schreiber was missing for quite a bit of the film considering it was his character who pushed for this case to be put forward. I found this strange as I thought he'd have taken more of an interest and given a bit more help in this case. Overall I don't have many complaints!

Final verdict: Spotlight = A
A phenomenal film telling a very scary, true event, I highly recommend seeing this film as it is spectacular. I really hope this film does well at the Oscars as it thoroughly deserves to do so.
A must see!

So have you seen Spotlight? If so what did you think of it? If you haven't I hope this review has encouraged you to now go and see it. Once again thank you very much for reading, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

Trumbo Review

The last of the films I had left to see that featured the candidates in the Best Actor category was Trumbo. The biographical drama featured a performance worthy of the highest honour for an actor for Bryan Cranston. But is there more to this film rather than just a good performance?

Trumbo is a biographical film featuring Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K and John Goodman. It follows the life of American communist screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who along with 9 other Hollywood figures are placed on the blacklist due to their political beliefs. They lose their rights to work on Hollywood projects and are even put in jail. The film shows how Trumbo continued to create his legacy although the world did not know anything about it at first.

I went into this film knowing nothing about this. I'd only seen the film poster. I didn't know the plot or see any trailers so I went into this completely blind. I won't lie either. I didn't know who Walton Trumbo was before this film. Due to this I was surprised to see that this was based on real events as I wouldn't have known due to my knowledge prior to the film. After seeing the film, I left wanting to know more. This man seems so incredibly interesting. I will no doubt be doing a bit of research on him as he seems like a remarkable person. Definitely someone as a media student I will be particularly interested in. So thank you Trumbo for enlightening me.

Now again there is something or specifically someone else that I am not entirely familiar with. And that unbelievably is Bryan Cranston. I haven't seen Breaking Bad which from what I've heard from many people is incredible and he is excellent in. From only seeing him in a few episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and his brief appearance in Godzilla, I don't feel I've had enough of a taste to see what is so truly great about him. That has now changed. He was great in this role. He completely compelled me as this character and is part of the reason to why I was so interested in him. I'm not really surprised he was nominated as he feel he was great in this film. He was probably quite easily the stand out in this film by far.

Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo

The rest of the cast were good as well. Nothing special but also nothing terrible either. Famous figures were portrayed such as John Wayne and Kirk Douglas fairly well I would say. As a child I was brought up watching John Wayne westerns due to my fathers interest in them and I was surprised that Wayne was being portrayed in this film. This was mainly due to the actor not looking like him at all which did take me out of the film for a little bit but I do feel that his portrayal was good. Performances from Helen Mirren and John Goodman were also very good and enjoyable.

Trumbo meeting the legendary Kirk Douglas

The film at the start is mainly all based about Trumbo being a communist. A lot of it has to do with how they are being perceived due to their political beliefs and also shows what it caused them to go through due to this. The film does this very well and made it clear what was happening. However at times it did feel slightly rushed and there wasn't much of a reaction to what had happened. Also the time periods weren't entirely clear at times and it seemed to have passed several months without notice. Also I feel that later on in the film it seemed to drop the communism completely and was barely mentioned. I found this strange as it was so heavily featured but wasn't mentioned nearly as much.

Trumbo (Cranston) and his wife Cleo (Diane Lane)

In saying that I did find a great deal of enjoyment just watching him continue his magnificent work whilst being on the blacklist. Seeing him continue to give out scripts in secret which were of the highest quality and continue to defy all accusations against him was truly great. This also was very intriguing and also quite odd to see that he was so willing to not take credit for his masterpieces. However it did provide a great feel good moment when it showed him finally getting the recognition he oh so much deserved.

Trumbo also did a magnificent job at making everything seem classic. The style of clothes in this film helped along with the classic cinemas gave this an old fashioned feeling. The he classic cinemas were done very well with the news reels beforehand as well as smoking in the cinema. Trumbo did a great job at making it feel as if we were in that specific time period.

Final Verdict: Trumbo = B
A very interesting and intriguing film considering I had no idea what I was going in to see. I enjoyed this film a lot and would recommend that you go see it. A great adaptation for someone who seems to have been a creative genius.

So have you seen Trumbo? If so tell me what you thought about it? If you're planning on seeing it, i hope you get as much enjoyment as I did. Once again thank you for reading. If you like, you can look back at my other reviews, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

Deadpool Review

Deadpool is the latest comic book movie to be pumped out by juggernaut company Marvel. Family friendly Marvel. That's what Deadpool is like, right?

Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson who would later go on to be the tittle character as he gains superhuman abilities after his last chance of curing his cancer brings out the mutant gene in him. Ajax (Ed Skrein) is the one who has done this by torturing and disfiguring him in the hope to creating him to use as a slave. This does not go to plan but Ajax leaves Wilson for dead...or so he thinks. Deadpool along with his twisted sense of humour looks to hunt Ajax down for revenge and also to save the love of his life.

Deadpool is a comedy, action, superhero, revenge and romance rolled into one like no other superhero movie we have ever seen, never mind just Marvel film. Rated 15 in the UK which is slightly higher than the normal 12A rating given to the recent Marvel movies. And quite right. This is most definitely not fun for the whole family. However for myself and my friends, it is absolutely perfect. 

First of all, this movie is absolutely hilarious. If you think the trailer was funny you are certainly in for a real treat. How great is it going to see a comedy where the best bits aren't just in the trailers? There's so much comedy gold in Deadpool and it is fantastic. Straight from the start it is hilarious with a substitution for what would normally be the credits as 'Angel in the Morning' plays over it. Truly great work. Every attempt at comedy in Deadpool works with some truly great dialogue. It must of been so fun for the writers to come up with some of the outbursts said not only by Deadpool but many of the other characters in the movie. 

Nobody is safe from Deadpool in this movie when it comes to quips. Between bringing up actors in the X-Men universe such as Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart to other well known characters such as Ripley from Alien there are plenty of references that are all hilarious. Even Reynolds himself is not free from getting a ribbing as himself and a certain green suited superhero are mocked in the film. The movie studio are also the target of many jokes from the merc with a mouth which is just magnificent. It also takes time to take aim at the decision to sew his mouth shut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine giving a little redemption to the huge mistake made.

The action in this film also has to be mentioned. It is absolutely beautiful. There are times tho that you can easily tell that it is CGI but for the most part the effects are really good and lifelike. Great action that we have come to expect in Marvel's movies. The action is often slowed way down to allow the jokes and remarks to come out which works perfectly such as when he turns someone into "human kebab". The action is unique to than other Marvel films due to this which is great as it is bringing something new to the table in this huge inflation of superhero movies.

One of the great action shots from Deadpool

Ryan Reynolds really was a perfect casting for this role. He was absolutely fantastic as Wade Wilson/Deadpool. His delivery for all of his comedic lines was excellent and he was great when the character had to be a bit more serious. Definitely the performance we'd hoped for and he did not disappoint us at all. You can clearly see that he has thoroughly enjoyed being this character and it has probably helped his performance with him being so passionate about the project.

 Ed Skrein was also great as the villain Ajax. I'd even say that he is one of the strongest Marvel villains we have had although competition isn't overly competitive. That being said, it shouldn't be taken away that Skrein did a great job especially considering he was coming off the back of a terrible Transporter reboot. Morena Baccarin plays Vanessa, Wilson's love interest and also does a great job. She is great at playing this character who is just perfect for Wilson and they really compliment each other. The character is very similar to Wade Wilson himself and really show an actual believable couple. One of the funnier roles was played by T.J Miller who was Wilson's friend 'Weasel' who provides even more great comedic effect to the film. Also be prepared to see one of the funniest Stan Lee cameos. 

Ajax and Deadpool squaring off

As this is the same universe as the X-Men, it was good to see this be acknowledged. Even if so most of the time it was taking digs at the mutant group. At least it is giving a reason to why he is not helping the main group take down foes which has been a question asked in Marvels solo Avengers movies. Deadpool however does have two X-Men characters in it with Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) who's incredible name is brought up in admiration by Deadpool himself. This is probably the best looks to Colossus that we have ever had which is great to see. Also Negasonic's quick wit and moody attitude is great to watch as well. It will certainly be interesting to see how Deadpool will tie in with the X-Men universe in later films.

Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead looking to recruit Deadpool

If you do go to see this like all Marvel films there is a scene at the end of the credits with a pop culture reference and then a reveal for Deadpool 2. If you are a fan of a certain 80's classic you will love the end credits scene. I know I did.

Final Verdict: Deadpool = A-

A great start to a year that will be dominated by superhero movies. I am glad to say that I was surprised at just how good Deadpool was and would highly recommend it to mature fans. Probably a bit too much for younger audiences. Let's hope the rest of the superhero flicks follow suit this year.

So have you seen Deadpool? If so what did you think? If you are planning on seeing it, I hope this review was useful and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Once again thank you for reading, it is much appreciated. 

By Angus McGregor

My Favourite Films: Jurassic Park Movie Review

Often as a student you will find yourself skint. No money at all until the next pay day which is a horrible thing for me as that means I cannot check out the latest movies. I would really of loved to have seen The Big Short and Spotlight and give a review about those films but these circumstances won't make that possible. So instead of not doing anything at all I thought I would take this as an opportunity to start reviewing some of my favourite films of all time. May as well start off at the top with my favourite film of all time, Jurassic Park.

Now I'm pretty certain that everyone has at least heard of Jurassic Park. If not you've probably been living under a rock for the last 20+ years. A novel by Michael Crichton brought to life by the great mind of Steven Spielberg to create one of the biggest and most popular blockbusters of all time. 

The story features palaeontologists Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neil) and Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) being offered an all expenses paid trip to an island for their expertise by billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough). Little do they know quite what they are in for. They are joined by mathematician or 'chaotician' Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and lawyer of potential investors Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero). When they get to the island, it is beyond their wildest imagination as they realise they are literally in a theme park. The theme being real life, full size dinosaurs. All seems to be going well until the power is turned off by greedy and wrongfully trusted Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) and the beasts are free to roam the island. Whilst being out in the now dangerous wild, Grant has to return safely with Hammonds grandchildren- Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim ( Joseph Mazzello) before anything deadly finds them as they look to escape with their lives.

I don't even know where to start with this film. May as well start off with the elephant in the room, the dinosaurs. Of course in a film called Jurassic Park there are going to be a lot of dinosaurs and they most definitely play a huge role in this. What is amazing about this though is how they were able to do it and also to do it convincingly. If they couldn't make these dinosaurs look real the film would easily fall into a B movie standard. Steven Spielberg not only succeeded this but surpassed expectations. They were able to make you feel as if what you were watching was real. Who'd of thought that in 1993 you would be watching a movie with full size dinosaurs that looked like something you could go to a zoo and see yourself. What is even more amazing is that at times they used practical effects to bring these dinosaurs to life. They actually assembled a giant fully functioning T-Rex on the set to actually use. I bet the crew and cast got a few frights when seeing it for the first time but still probably not as much of a fright as the audience did in the final product. 

Obviously this wasn't possible for everything including the shots involving the herd of Gallimimus running and also the breath taking  first shot of the Brachiosaurus. The CGI does not disappoint though and everything looks great. Even 23 years later, it still holds up and looks very realistic. Some of the best CGI work ever used to phenomenal effect. Many of the dinosaurs in the film are created by CGI in a way to create the most life like creatures and to make them look full scale as well as seen with the Brachiosaurus. There's no wonder that it picked up an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. To be able to use CGI to bring a creature of this size to life is incredible and is a true triumph in film history. 

Although there is a great amount of wow factor from the dinosaurs alone, it would be easy to forget that this film has many great performances in it. There's a reason to why Sam Neil is known as the guy from Jurassic Park. He is incredible in this film as Dr Alan Grant, a dinosaur expert who has to survive and escape not only with his life, but the life of the helpless Lex and Tim. He does an excellent job as this character and is one of my all time favourites. Neil's great performance also comes with the fact that himself and Laura Dern who plays Ellie Sattler have fantastic chemistry. The two are a great pleasure to watch on screen together and are really believable as a couple despite not a lot of romance being involved. Dern also plays a very strong female character in this film and one that is very underrated in my opinion when talking about female characters. She more than holds her own with the rest of the characters and arguably does a lot more than most of them too.

Dr Ellie Sattler and Dr Alan Grant

The film also features good performances from the two child actors. Looking back both Mazzello and Richards as Tim and Lex both have very good performances. They both react great to the carnage at first which you would expect anyone would. You can also see them progress through the film as they start to become braver as the story moves on. They don't seem annoying which was a problem I found with the younger characters in Jurassic World which made their performances more enjoyable. 

Lex and Tim

Richard Attenborough is also great as the mastermind of the whole park who has good intentions but fails to see the danger that this creation could and then does cause. A more subtle Samuel L Jackson performance as Ray Arnold in which was possibly his first big break, still with great quotes and moments in the film. Wayne Knight is also great in this film and provides a comedic element to the film which works great. One of my favourite performances comes from Bob Peck as Robert Muldoon, a warden in the park who deals with the dinosaurs. He has great lines in the film and is very believable as someone who knows how to handle these amazing beasts.

Bob Peck was great as Robert Muldoon

Of course there is one character who I have missed out so far and that is Ian Malcom played by the great Jeff Goldblum. This is one of the most entertaining characters in the entire history of film. His mannerisms alone are worth watching and his smart alec, sarcastic humorous ways are great to watch and anyone will find enjoyment out of it. Jeff Goldblum's charisma really pulls this off and is a pleasure to watch. His character is also very clever and foresee's most of the events that happen. He is also very noble and brave as he takes action to protect and save other people. Full of memorable moments and quotes too. It's a shame that these traits weren't there in the vastly inferior sequel.

Great performance by Jeff Goldblum

The film is filled to the brim with great performances which is one of the main parts to why I love Jurassic Park.

One of the best things with Jurassic Park for me is how it presents the dinosaurs. At first they are represented as all good with all of the herbivores being shown which seems to be showing everything going smoothly and safely. The creatures are being looked at with no fear, just remark-ability. However when it becomes known that there are many carnivores and what we marvelled at has now become the greatest fears to all of the characters. It's great at showing what can seem great at first can turn out oh so badly.

I think something that makes this film even more special is the music composed by John Williams. The music is just magical and adds so much to the film. The scene with the helicopter approaching the island as one of the main themes plays is my favourite use of music in a film ever. It gives me goosebumps watching it and it's just amazing. Also the scene where we first see the Brachiosaurus, the reveal is made 10x better due to the wonderful music playing at the same time. The music from John Williams in this film is truly magical and is actually something I have on my iPod to listen to for recreational use. One of the best works from John Williams in a very illustrious career, 

Jurassic Park is full of incredible and memorable moments. One of these is the first appearance of the dinosaur which I've talked about in detail in previous points. There are much more to choose from. Including the terrifying T-Rex attacking Lex and Tim whilst in the car in the first scene we see it. This is the first time that we see the full T-Rex and immediately it is causing destruction. There is also a great scene involving a dilophosaurus. This is the scene where it attacks Nedry showing it's true capabilities.  Perhaps my favourite scene in the entire movie is the kitchen scene. After returning to where they thought was safe, Lex and Tim look to hide from dreaded Velociraptors. This then leads to one of the tense scenes I have ever seen as the pair try to hide for their lives as the raptors circle the room and look for them.  Definitely one of my favourite scenes of all time.

Tim hiding from the Raptors in the "Kitchen Scene"

As well as memorable scenes, there are many great quotes. Many quotes that I find myself on most days. One of my favourites from Jurassic Park is when Robert Muldoon is tricked by the raptor and turns and says "Clever girl". One of my favourites and I find myself saying it to friends whenever something has been done correct.  The blocking system on the computer set by Dennis Nedry that goes " Ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word". I find myself saying this a lot too when someone asks for something.More comically there are quotes such as when Jeff Goldblum's character walks up to the Dinosaur droppings and says "That is one big pile of shit". Fantastic. Still makes me laugh every time. Even the way Goldblum talks with the stuttering and pauses is great to imitate and is recognised very easily. Many great quotes from this great film.

"Now that is one big pile of shit"

Now of course there are some flaws with the film. Mainly to do with the science side of things in the film. I wouldn't know any better to be honest and I'm not watching Jurassic Park for an accurate description of procreation and cloning.  There is also a bit where the T-Rex enters which would make it have a surface to walk on of some kind behind the wall but it then later is a huge drop. That's really the only problems I had but they are very minor. And when a film is this good you forget about minor things.

Final Verdict: Jurassic Park= A+

I grew up with this film and must watch it about 5 times a year. I think I've seen this more than any film I have seen before. I truly love this film. If it is on I have to sit and watch it. This film will never get old to me in fact my love for it seems to grow every time for it. This film is why I love movies. A true timeless classic. 

Now if you have seen Jurassic Park which I really really hope you have, what do you think of it? And if you haven't seen it, GO WATCH IT NOW PLEASE! Thank you for reading my review on my favourite movie of all time. I hope you can relate to the points I have made and hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks again, it is really appreciated!

By Angus McGregor 

Regarding Buzzfeeds Oscar-Nominated video

So recently BuzzFeed made a video showing what it would be like if  white actors were removed from the posters of the films and weren't in them. It is quite amazing at how many of these films do not feature many different ethnicities. The films that were shown in the video were The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Carol, The Danish Girl, Ex-Machina, The Hateful Eight, Steve Jobs, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Spotlight and finally Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But this then got me thinking about the films and what they are about and maybe to why this has happened. You know other than this thought of Hollywood being a super racist chain.

Now I have to be very careful when talking about this. In absolutely no way am I saying that it is ok for not enough movies to be starring non white actors. I feel it is a lot more complex than some are believing though.

This is the link to the video here to see what I am talking about.

Something that this video really did not think about was just how many of these films were based on true stories. The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, The Danish Girl, Steve Jobs and Spotlight were all based on actual events that happened. All of the characters based in these films were based on actual characters. Yes all of these characters are white. But you can't change history. Could anyone really say that it would make sense casting a black or Asian actor to play Steve Jobs or the supporting characters Steve Wozniak and John Scully? No it wouldn't. For an accurate depiction, you're going to make them the same race at least to try make it believable.

Excellent photo of the Best Picture nominees by Olly Gibbs

Another thing with some of these films is the time periods that they were set in. This is obviously featured in the true stories so we won't go on about them. However  The Hateful Eight and The Revenant are both set at certain time periods when it wasn't exactly the greatest time for a lot of ethnicities. The Hateful Eight did feature many black actors including Samuel L Jackson and also Median Bichir because you know, it's not only black people who create diversity. Apparently BuzzFeed don't think this though as they removed him from it as well. Very odd. The Revenant was set in 1823's America. Are you really surprised that this film lacked much diversity in it's main characters? They represented Native Americans whom would of been around at that specific time. You can't just go throwing random people into situations they would never of been in. You wouldn't make a film about the great Genghis Kahn and have it featuring white actors. So how can you complain about this? The film Carol also is a story based on an Irish woman and is played by Irish actress Saorise Ronan. There's no one better than her to play this role. She's exactly what you'd be looking for in this role.

Star Wars and Mad Max are both sequels. Now Star Wars has been more diverse and features a woman as the lead which there has been a clamouring for and also with John Boyega, a main character who is black. There is clear diversity in the new characters in the film. And you can't change the past and completely change the look of old characters. It doesn't work that way. Imagine the outrage that people would have at that? Mad Max also looked to change things by having Furiosa played by Charlize Theron being the main character in an action film, This is already taking on a problem in Hollywood. The other main character, Max, has been a character and is being continued. Obviously it isn't Mel Gibson isn't there to reprise his role but again you can't change the style of the character if you want to continue the same character. 

The Martian is the only movie of these that has yet to have been mentioned. So go ahead moan about that all you want I guess. There isn't really a reason to why this film has the actors it has. Maybe that's just who the director wanted. Maybe that's who fit his vision. It's not as if Matt Damon is some terrible actor either.

I 100% agree that there should be more films featuring black actors. There's absolutely no problem with that whatsoever. But if a lot of directors have a vision for their story set in certain times or about the past what can you do? There isn't really a way to filter this out. How would you decide who gets to make their films and who doesn't? I don't think that's a possible thing to do.

The main point of this BuzzFeed video is the lack of black people. Is it only black people who are lacking in these films? What about other ethnicities? There was no mention of Asians in this video at all. Why aren't they making a point out of this too? In the video they are removing all the white people in the films. So this is saying that these actors shouldn't be in these movies because they are white. But isn't that itself racist? Is that the point they are trying to make? I certainly hope not.

I also feel that a lot of people aren't even watching the movies some of these actors are in. They are just seeing that they are white and labelling it as racist. They aren't even caring about the performances at all. In this campaign about the Oscars, many people have forgot what it's about, Who had the best in each category. Most of the arguments I've seen have had nothing to actually do with the performances. I certainly do feel that Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson should of been nominated for Oscars in Creed but I also understand that there were many great performances from other candidates. Many are most definitely forgetting this.

At the time of writing this the video is currently sitting at 11,268 likes and a whopping 29,900 dislikes. The comments are filled to the brim with negative comments about the video from all races. I'm very glad to see that most people see how truly ridiculous and stupid this video is. Also shows that it's not just white people being against it which maybe they were not expecting. 

The Oscars should 100% be performance based. Nothing more than that. 

I hope you can see the points I was trying to make with this post. I just feel that this video is utterly ridiculous and hope you can see why through my points. What do you think of this whole situation? Once again thank you for reading, it means a lot.

By Angus McGregor